Mixed In Asia; Japan Plays Catch-Up

Major Asia-Pac equity indices are mixed at writing on a similar showing from Wall St. on Thursday.

• Suppliers of Apple Inc across Asia were bid as BBG sources have pointed to the U.S. tech giant asking suppliers to produce at least as many next-gen iPhones in ‘22 (~90mn) as in ‘21, with some participants likely watching for similar bids in Europe and U.S. listed suppliers later on Friday.
• Japanese stocks outperformed on their first day back from the holiday on Thursday, experiencing a lift as Japanese participants played catch-up to the recent rally in equities on Wednesday’s better-than-expected U.S. CPI print. Large-caps lead the way higher, with the Nikkei 225 dealing 2.4% firmer at typing, ahead of the broader TOPIX index (+1.8%).
• The CSI300 is 0.2% worse off at typing after a brief show above neutral levels, turning the benchmark away from fresh one-week highs made earlier in the session. Relatively shallow gains across most sectors was countered by losses in consumer discretionary and tech stocks, with the ChiNext index trading 0.9% lower at typing.
• The ASX200 sits 0.7% worse off, backing away from nine-week highs made on Thursday amidst weakness across virtually every sub-index, with healthcare and tech contributing the most to losses (S&P/ASX All Tech Index: -1.5%).
• E-minis deal 0.1-0.3% firmer at typing, operating adrift of their respective multi-month highs made on Thursday.