EQUITIES: US Futures Higher, China Related Markets Down On Property Concern

Regional equities are mostly higher, with HK and Mainland
China the exception. US futures have continued their trend up from last week, led by Nasdaq futures, up 0.64%, Eminis were last near +0.262% higher.

• Japan has led the move higher in Asia as investors wait for the BOJ decision on Tuesday, the market expecting the BOJ to leave rates unchanged, however expect normalization to continue in the coming months. The Nikkei 225 up 1.31%, while the Topix is up 1.08% at this stage.

• The Taiex is up 0.68% currently, lead by strong performance in renewable names the sector is up 2.00%, while tech names follow the US tech strength, up 1% for the day.

• Hong Kong and Mainland China indices continue to lag the wider Asian markets today after the nations banks kept their benchmark lending rates unchanged, currently the Hang Seng is down 2.00%.

• The Hang Seng mainland properties index is off by over 5% to fresh record lows. A number of China developers have seen wind-up petitions filled in Hong Kong courts. At the same time, analysts at J.P. Morgan have a presented a cautious outlook for the China property sector in 2024, with sales projected to fall a further 10% (BBG).

• In Australia, the ASX 200 is up around 0.65%, with materials names underperforming. In SEA markets, Philippines are trading 0.75% higher, while most other regions are trading in the -0.5% to +0.5% range.