Strong Start To The Week; Chinese And Hong Kong Stocks Extend Outperformance

Virtually all Asia-Pac equity indices are higher at typing, following a strongly positive lead from Wall St. The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index is on track for a third consecutive day of gains, with Chinese and Hong Kong equities leading the bid.

• The Hang Seng leads regional peers, dealing 3.2% firmer at typing, operating around fresh 12-week highs. Optimism surrounding China’s economic recovery from pandemic control measures is evident, with Shanghai’s leader declaring victory over COVID on Sunday as the city continues to ease measures laid down since March ‘22. Broad gains were observed across virtually every sub-index while China-based tech leads the bid, seeing the Hang Seng Tech Index sit 5.7% better off at typing.
• The Nikkei 225 trades 1.3% higher after opening in the green, shrugging off the latest round of JPY strength to hit fresh one-week highs at writing. Large-caps and commodity-related equities lead the bid, with electricity/utility stocks such as Tokyo Electric Power Company (+7.6%) outperforming after the government issued a power crunch advisory on Monday, raising expectations for higher power prices and corporate profits.
• The ASX200 sits 2.0% better off at writing, on track for a third straight session of gains, and its best daily performance since mid-May. Commodity and tech-related equities lead the bid with the S&P/ASX All Technology Index trading 2.9% higher, while the major miners and ‘Big 4’ Australian banks received strong bids as well.
• U.S. e-minis sit 0.1% to 0.5% firmer at typing, reversing earlier losses. NASDAQ contracts lead gains heading into European hours, tracking outperformance in high-beta names during the Asian session.