Firm Chinese Exports Help Turn Risk Mood, Hang Seng Tech Struggles

The early negative momentum in e-mini futures, as Asia-Pac participants reacted to Wednesday’s Wall St. downtick, as well as the negative feedthrough from the latest North Korean missile launch (which triggered a cautionary seek shelter warning in Japan’s Hokkaido region, although the warning was subsequently removed), has reversed, with the 3 major contracts running little changed to 0.2% firmer.

• The Hang Seng has bounced from early session lows after shedding ~2%, with the uptick in e-minis and much firmer than expected monthly export data out of China aiding that dynamic, although the index still runs 0.5% worse off on the day.
• To recap, the early weakness in the Hang Seng stemmed from pressure on tech giant Alibaba, which tumbled after the FT pointed to SoftBank offloading a significant chunk of its holdings in the company. Meanwhile, embattled Chinese property developer Sunac came under notable pressure as dealing in the company’s equity resumed after a year-long halt. Tech names kept the index heavy (HS Tech last -1.1%).
• The Nikkei 225 benefitted from the aforementioned turnaround in risk appetite, more than paring early losses, last printing 0.2% higher. The related move away from session lows in USD/JPY further aided the bid in the Nikkei 225. This comes after data from the Japanese MoF revealed the largest ever round of weekly net purchases of Japanese equities on the part of international investors (for the week ending 7 April).