HSI TECH +9%, As China/HK Stocks Rebound

China/HK related equities have again been the focus point. Strong gains have been recorded across all the major indices, particularly Hong Kong tech shares. This has helped lift US futures out of negative territory, although gains are modest at this stage, with only Nasdaq futures at +0.25/0.30%. Some regional markets are still in the red as well, so spill over from China/HK has not been uniform.

• Catalysts for the surge higher in HSI, ~+6% currently, are not clear from a headline standpoint. Once again, underlying sentiment has been governed by the tech space. The HSI tech sub index is up close to 9% at the moment. Some have pointed to the joint venture between large state-owned telco companies Tencent and Unicom as a potential catalyst.
• Otherwise, re-opening speculation is a likely factor, although we haven't seen any fresh developments on this front. The US audit inspectors have also finished on-site inspection work for China companies listed on US exchanges. Delisting risk has been a weight on market sentiment, albeit over a long period of time.
• The CSI 300 is up 2.7%, the composite index just over 2%.
• It has been more mixed elsewhere the Nikkei 225 is off just over 2%. This is more in line with US weakness from overnight, as tech related plays faltered. The Kospi has performed better, a trend evident for much of this week (up 0.47% today). The Taiex is off -0.30%.
• The ASX 200 is +0.40%, aided in part by higher resource names, as firmer commodity prices have been evident during today's session.