Mostly In The Green, Mainland China Stocks Lagging

Major Asia Pac equities are in the green, with China mainland stocks the exception. US futures have spent much of the session in negative territory, but are away from worst levels and this follows 2-3% gains through Friday's session for cash equities.

• The HSI opened lower, but we are now back in positive territory (last up 0.90%). Tech sentiment is better (the sub index up close to 3.5%). Macau gaming stocks are higher, (+4%) following reports China mainland residents will be able to visit from Nov 1 via the smart visa process (per Reuters reports). This offset the negative weekend news around mass testing due to a covid outbreak.
• At this stage, the CSI 300 is down -0.15%, while the Shanghai composite is close to flat. Official PMI prints disappointed, both manufacturing and services slipping into contractionary territory. Rising covid case numbers is also causing concern amid a further rise in total case numbers.
• The Nikkei 225 is up +1.7%, likewise for the Kospi +1% and Taiex up +1.30%. This follows the strong lead from tech stocks through Friday offshore trading.
• The ASX 200 is up +1%, led mainly by financial names, with materials/resource companies still lagging to a degree on the back of recent commodity price softness.