Mostly Higher In Asia; Chinese Property Developers Founder

Major Asia-Pac equity indices are mostly higher at typing, loosely tracking a positive lead from Wall St.

• The CSI300 trades 0.6% firmer at writing, reversing earlier losses of as much as 1.0%, with a rally in tech (ChiNext: +2.0%) and high-beta stocks aiding the rebound. Property (-2.7%) and financials (-0.8%) struggled, pressured by news of developer Evergrande offering “preliminary restructuring principles” instead of a “preliminary restructuring plan”, sidestepping earlier promises. Elsewhere, housing data released on Sunday by CRIC pointed to a 39.7% Y/Y decline in sales (-28.6% M/M), exacerbating worry surrounding the ongoing “mortgage revolt”. BBG source reports on Friday had also pointed to Chinese regulators considering a plan to seize land from distressed developers to complete halted projects, further souring sentiment.
• The Hang Seng Index deals 0.2% weaker at typing, paring earlier losses of as much as 1.3% on gains in industrials and tech (HSTECH: +0.4%). The property (-1.6%) and financials (-0.8%) sub-indices underperformed, while elsewhere, Alibaba Group (-1.8%) declined after the U.S. SEC on Friday placed it on a list of companies due to be delisted over ongoing Sino-U.S. audit disputes.
• The ASX200 sits 0.5% better off at typing, hitting seven-week highs as gains in the healthcare (+1.1%) and materials (+1.1%) sub-indices have countered shallow losses in the financials, real estate, and consumer discretionary sub-gauges. Note that the bank holiday in the state of NSW is expected to result in a volume-light session today.
• E-minis deal 0.4-0.5% worse off at writing, a little off worst levels heading into European hours.