Ticking Higher, China Outperforms

The major regional equity indices nudged higher during Thursday's Asia-Pac session, with the major Chinese mainland indices leading the way higher. That outperformance came on the back of a call between the U.S. & Chinese commerce ministers, with Chinese state media noting that the two "agreed to promote the healthy development of pragmatic cooperation on trade and investment while properly handle differences. The two sides also agreed to maintain communication in their working relationship." Chinese equities also benefitted from U.S. President Biden's move to revoke Trump era executive orders targeting TikTok & WeChat, moving to a new order requiring security reviews of these apps (and others) in the jurisdiction of foreign adversaries. U.S. equity index futures have nudged higher after the S&P 500 & DJIA ticked lower on Wednesday.