Mixed In Asia; Yen Weakness, RBA Hike In Focus

Major Asia-Pac equity indices are mostly higher at typing, broadly tracking a positive lead from Wall St. JPY weakness earlier in the session coincided with selling in Tsy futures after BOJ governor Kuroda pledged to continue with an ultra-easy MonPol stance, with the overall move precipitating sell-offs in Australian, Japanese, and South Korean stocks, as well as U.S. equity index futures.

• The Hang Seng Index sits 0.1% worse off at writing, backing away from fresh nine-week highs made earlier in the session. China-based tech stocks outperformed for a change, with the Hang Seng Tech Index dealing 0.5% firmer at typing - notably less than the NASDAQ Golden Dragon China Index (+5.4%) in Monday’s NY session. Sentiment in China-based tech has been shored up this week by a slew of positive developments, from the re-opening of major Chinese cities, to regulators seemingly ending their crackdown on the sector (taking reference to WSJ reports on Monday re: the apps of Didi Global and two other companies potentially having their apps reinstated to domestic app stores later this week).
• The Nikkei 225 deals 0.6% firmer at typing, with a majority of the index’s constituents registering gains amidst the latest bout of JPY weakness (with USD/JPY hitting 20-year highs).
• The ASX200 deals 1.7% lower at typing, falling by ~0.7% after the RBA raised the cash rate target by 50bp (BBG median 25bp). Minor gains materials and energy-related stocks were unable to offset losses in high-beta technology and healthcare stocks, with the S&P/ASX All Technology Index sitting 2.9% lower at writing, led lower by large-caps Block Inc, REA Group, and Xero Ltd. The “Big 4” banks were all sharply lower following the RBA’s MonPol decision as well, and trade between 1.4% to 2.8% lower at typing.
• U.S. e-mini equity index futures operate a shade above session lows, sitting 0.4% to 0.6% worse off at writing.