Following Wall St. Lower; Hang Seng Approaches 10-Year Lows

Virtually all Asia-Pac equity indices are in the red at typing, building on a bearish lead from Wall St. amidst pressure from Tuesday’s surge in U.S. yields and continued strength in the USD.

• The Nikkei 225 is 1.0% worse off at writing, erasing virtually all of its gains since rallying in mid-July while the broader TOPIX (-0.8%) has fared a little better. Accordingly, large caps such as Tokyo Electron (-2.3%) and Softbank Group (-2.3%) contributed the most to drag on the index, with major exporters finding little relief amidst the latest round of JPY weakness.
• The Hang Seng deals 1.7% softer after opening lower, hitting fresh six-month lows at writing, approaching ten-year lows last witnessed in mid-March (at ~18,235.5). China-based tech led the way lower (HSTECH: -2.3%), adding to underperformance in the financials sub-index (1.9%)
• The CSI300 is flat at writing, having traded on either side of neutral throughout Asia-Pac dealing. Tech equities outperformed, with the tech-heavy ChiNext (+1.2%) gaining on local news of Chinese Pres Xi Jinping calling for a “whole nation system” to strengthen technology critical to national security, likely in response to recent U.S. tech-related curbs.
• E-minis sit 0.5-0.6% weaker apiece, showing a little through their respective Tuesday’s troughs, with S&P500 contracts operating just above seven-week lows at typing.