Mixed In Asia; ASX200 Hits 10-Week High

Major Asia-Pac equity indices are broadly off their extremes, operating little changed to 0.5% better off at writing, with a positive lead from Wall St. mostly taking a back seat to domestic developments in the respective markets.

• Chinese developers drew a bid after several source reports pointed to regulators acting to secure onshore bond issuance guarantees for specific private property developers, with the Hang Seng Mainland Properties Index (+6.4%) surging by as much as 10.5% earlier.
• The main Hang Seng Index is +0.1%, operating around session lows as a strong showing in the Properties (+2.5%) sub-index was countered by underperformance in the finance and consumer/industrial sub-gauges.
• The Nikkei 225 sits a shade below neutral levels at writing, facing headwinds above the 28,900 mark. Softbank Group (-2.0%) contributed the most to losses in the index, sliding to session lows after FT source reports pointed to U.S. hedge fund Elliott Management selling off nearly all of its positions in the company earlier this year, adding to negative showings from industrials and energy-related equities.
• The Australian ASX200 is 0.5% better off, sitting a little below freshly-made 10-week highs. CSL Ltd (+1.3%) and BHP Group (+4.5%) contributed the most to gains, with the latter rallying after reporting its second-highest annual profit on record, while announcing its highest dividend payout ever.
• E-minis are flat to 0.1% weaker at writing, operating shy of their respective, recently made multi-month highs.