Lower As Inflationary Concerns Weigh

Most of the major Asia-Pac equity indices trade lower at writing, following a negative lead from Wall St. High-beta stocks across several sectors bore the brunt of the downward pressure, amidst intensifying concerns re: higher inflation. Conversely, broad gains were witnessed in energy stocks across the region, as the major crude oil benchmarks registered another round of fresh multi-year highs.

• The Hang Seng is 1.1% worse off at typing, taking the index back to two-year lows as the fallout from a widening COVID-19 outbreak in Hong Kong weighs on sentiment. The financials sub-index leads losses (-2.0%), with steep declines witnessed in large caps such as HSBC (-5.0%) and Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (-2.2%).
• The Chinese CSI300 deals 1.0% softer, as richly valued consumer staples, healthcare, and consumer discretionary stocks struggled on the day. The tech heavy ChiNext sits 1.8% lower at typing, with new-energy stocks dragging the index lower.
• The ASX200 broke the regional trend, lodging modest gains, with the high weighting of the buoyant materials and energy sectors resulting in outperformance for the index.
• U.S. e-mini equity index futures sit ~0.5% firmer apiece at writing, trading just below session highs ahead of European hours.