Mostly Higher As Crude Benchmarks Hold Monday’s Losses

Major Asia-Pac equity indices are mostly higher at typing, tracking a positive lead from Wall St. High-beta names across the region have caught a bid as major crude and commodity benchmarks have struggled to make headway in Asian hours, easing stagflation-related worry in some quarters.

• The ASX200 outperformed, building on an early lead to deal 0.8% firmer at writing. Technology and healthcare equities lead gains in the index, with the S&P/ASX All Technology Index sitting 2.6% better off at writing. The energy and materials sub-indices bucked the broader trend of gains amongst sub-index peers, on track to be the only sectors to close in the red for the day.
• The Hang Seng sits 0.4% higher at typing, with China-based tech leading gains for another day. The Hang Seng Tech Index trades 0.8% higher, with modest gains observed in internet giants Tencent, Meituan, and Trip.com. Real estate-related names within the Hang Seng remain under pressure as Hong Kong continues to pursue COVID-zero policies in the face of fresh daily case counts numbering in the thousands, seeing the Hang Seng Properties Index deal 0.4% softer at writing.
• The CSI300 underperformed against major regional equity index peers, dealing 0.4% softer come the lunch bell. Looking elsewhere domestically, Chinese real estate stocks broadly sold off as the list of developers declaring their inability to release financial results on time continues to grow, with sharp losses seen in names such as Sunac Holdings (-19.4%) and Shimao (-6.9%).
• U.S. e-mini equity index futures are virtually unchanged at typing, lacking momentum in either direction.