Mostly Bid In Asia, But There Are Some Exceptions

Chatter of a larger than expected U.S. fiscal impulse generally provided support for equities in Asia-Pac hours, although the space was mainly higher before the headlines hit as participants looked to the positive lead from Wall St.

• NASDAQ 100 e-minis dipped on sensitivity to higher U.S. yields, while the major Chinese indices lost ground as U.S. President Trump tweaked his previous executive order to force the U.S. divestment of shareholdings of companies linked to Chinese military matters (chances of such a move were outlined via press reports in recent days). Note that the deadline for this divestment falls in November and President-elect Biden may choose to roll back the order before the deadline is reached (although, there are lots of unknowns surrounding the issue). Still, the matter outweighed a more positive WSJ report, which noted that "the U.S. government is expected to let Americans continue to invest in Chinese technology giants Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. , Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Baidu Inc."
• Nikkei 225 +1.8%, Hang Seng +0.5%, CSI 300 -1.1%, ASX 200 +0.5%.
• S&P 500 futures +9, DJIA futures +119, NASDAQ 100 futures -20.