Lower As Fed Worry Spills Into Asia

Virtually all Asia-Pac equity indices are in the red for a second day, following another negative lead from Wall St. Tech-related names across the region struggled in the wake of the tech-heavy Nasdaq’s underperformance, while Chinese and Hong Kong markets received some support from the Chinese authorities again voicing their intention to increase monetary stimulus “at an appropriate time”.

• The CSI300 fell to a lesser extent than most major regional peers, dealing 0.9% softer at typing. The move lower comes despite Chinese officials from a State Council meeting late on Wednesday declaring their intention to support the economy amidst intensifying “complexity and uncertainty of domestic and foreign environments” that have “exceeded expectations”. A note that there was a lack of details re: specific easing measures (e.g. reserve ratio cuts), likely limiting optimism for now, with the CSI300 seen operating around session lows below Wednesday troughs at typing.
• The Hang Seng sits 1.2% worse off after reversing gains made earlier in the session, with nearly all constituents trading flat to lower at writing. The real estate sub-index brings up the rear, pulling back from six-week highs made on Wednesday amidst evident pressure from an ongoing COVID outbreak in Hong Kong and China. China-based tech sold off as well, with the Hang Seng Tech Index trading 2.0% lower at typing.
• U.S. e-mini equity index futures sit 0.4% weaker apiece at typing.