Japanese Equities Jump Post Holiday, Region Equities Mixed

Asian equity markets are mixed this morning, with the MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbing up to 1%, marking a third consecutive day of gains. Japan's Topix index is leading the rally, surging over 2% after returning from a holiday, supported by a weaker yen that benefits exporters. Investors are cautious as they await key U.S. economic data later this week, which could influence future market direction.

• Japanese equities have recovered to levels seen before the sharp 12% drop on August 5, with the Nikkei 225 up 2.50% with the market rebounding after a long weekend, supported by a weaker yen, which benefited exporters like automakers and tech firms. Technology stocks, including Tokyo Electron, gained following a boost in U.S. semiconductor stocks. Despite the recent recovery, both the Nikkei 225 and Topix are still down around 9% since the end of July. On Monday there were comments from an ex-BoJ board member suggesting that the BoJ may not raise rates again this year, due to the impact it has had on the markets. The Topix is 2.15% higher today, with Banks leading the way.
• South Korea has erased early gains, with the KOSPI now down 0.10%, while the KOSDAQ is off 1.65%. The market showed mixed performance among major stocks, with Samsung Electronics up 0.70% and SK hynix gaining 2.00%, benefiting from the recent strength in U.S. AI chip stocks like Nvidia. However, key battery makers, including LG Energy Solution and Samsung SDI, saw declines of 1% and 2%, respectively. Investors are cautious as they await critical U.S. economic data, including the consumer price index and retail sales figures, which could provide further direction for the global markets.
• Taiwan equities are little changed today, with the Taiex swinging between gains and losses. TSMC is also unchanged today underperforming other semiconductors names in the region. We have seen the past two sessions of inflows into Taiwan's markets, with the past 5 session now seeing a slight inflow, ending weeks of heavy selling by foreign investors.
• Australian equities are little changed today, there has been some tier 2 data out with Consumer Confidence rising to 2.8% in August to 85.00 from 82.7 in July, wages rose to 4.1% in 2Q slightly beating estimates at 4%, while we also had NAB business surveys, with confidence in July dropping to 1 from 3, while conditions rose to 6 from 4. The ASX 200 is 0.10% higher. In New Zealand, the NZX50 is 0.16%.
• Asia EM is mixed today, with Malaysia's KLCI down 0.11%, Singapore's Straits Times is 0.60% higher, Philippines PSEi is 0.30% higher & Indonesia's JCI 0.40% higher