Mixed As Hong Kong, Chinese Equities Notch One-Month Lows

Major Asia-Pac equity indices are mixed, tracking a similarly mixed lead from Wall St. Chinese and Hong Kong equities struggled, with sentiment in the former softening as a relatively slow pace of easing in pandemic control measures continues to mix with recent disappointment re: smaller-than-expected policy easing.

• The Hang Seng sits 1.7% lower at typing, hitting fresh five-week lows in the process. China-based tech underperformed, with the Hang Seng Tech Index (-3.6%) following the NASDAQ Golden Dragon China Index (-4.8%) lower. To elaborate, worry surrounding a possible de-listing of Chinese ADRs over previously-flagged audit disputes continues to rise, with BBG data pointing to a falling proportion of shares circulating in the U.S. vs. Hong Kong for several large cap names.
• The CSI 300 deals 1.4% weaker at typing, operating at one-month lows and on track for a fourth straight day of declines.
• The Nikkei 225 outperformed, dealing 1.0% firmer at typing on gains in large caps Tokyo Electron, Fast Retailing, and Daikin Industries. Semiconductor and export-related names caught a bid as the JPY has weakened in Asia-Pac dealing, while sentiment in energy and utilities was notably weaker.
• U.S. e-mini equity index futures are 0.3% to 0.6% better off at typing, led by gains in NASDAQ contracts after closing lower on Wednesday. A note that Dow Jones e-minis are on track for a third straight day of gains, mirroring recent outperformance in the underlying cash index as its peer indices (the S&P500 and Nasdaq 100) have come under pressure from severe sell-offs in tech-related names such as Netflix (-35.1%).