HK/China Soften, Mixed Trends Elsewhere

On balance, regional equities are lower in first part of Friday trade. Hong Kong and China markets are weaker, unwinding some of the optimism seen around policy support for the property sector in recent sessions. US futures are a touch higher, but have tracked tight ranges overall. Eminis were last near 4570, while Nasdaq futures were around 16062.

• US yield have pushed higher as cash markets have re-opened following the Thanksgiving holiday, but this looks to be largely catch up with higher EU yields from Thursday (as Germany looks to suspend its debt brake). This hasn't impacted sentiment too negatively though in the equity space.
• At the break, the HSI is off 1.38%, while the China CSI 300 index is down 0.53%. A Bloomberg gauge of China property developers is down around 1% at this stage, after rallying around 15% in the first 4 sessions of this week. Banks are also under pressure amid concerns around unsecured loans to developers (see this BBG link for more details).
• Earnings headwinds in Hong Kong is the other factor cited, with some disappointment around Q3 outcomes (see SCMP here).
• Elsewhere, Japan markets have returned, with the Topix up around 0.65% at this stage. The ASX 200 has also crept higher, +0.25%.
• Most other markets are weaker at this stage, although losses aren't large. The Kospi is down 0.50%, while The Taiex is close to flat.
• In SEA, only the Philippines is marginally higher at this stage.