(Bloomberg) — Asian stocks got a fillip Friday from a rally in a Hong Kong technology gauge following a surge in U.S.-listed Chinese shares. U.S. equity futures fell after Wall Street dipped from a record in thin year-end trading.
The Hang Seng Tech Index rose about 4%, while Chinese shares overall were steady. Those moves came in the wake of the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index’s biggest one-day jump Thursday since 2008, though it’s still down more than 40% for 2021.
The latest data showed China’s manufacturing sector continued to expand in December, providing some relief to Beijing as the world’s second-largest economy continues to struggle with a property market slump. Less positively, Hong Kong may be facing an omicron virus-strain cluster.
The city’s stock market shuts early and Japan is among a number closed ahead of the New Year. Treasury futures slipped after yields fell in U.S. hours. There is no cash Treasuries trading in Asia due to the Japan holiday. The dollar fluctuated and crude oil declined. Bitcoin held its December losses.
Global equities are closing out a strong year, driven by a U.S. surge while Asia lagged partly because of weakness in China on regulatory curbs and a slowing economy. Bond investors are nursing losses as many central banks move toward tighter monetary settings to fight inflation. How the coronavirus and those policy shifts shape economic reopening are key for the outlook.
“As we look forward to 2022 the gains are probably going to be more modest than they’ve been in the past year or so” partly given where valuations are now, Jason Pride, chief investment officer for private wealth at Glenmede, said on Bloomberg Television. But there’s reason for optimism too since “we’re still in the recovery from the pandemic,” he added.
U.S. data showed jobless claims unexpectedly fell last week while continuing claims dropped to the lowest level since March last year. A measure of Chicago business activity rose in December more than economists predicted.
Traders are continuing to monitor China’s struggling property developers. A Chinese state-owned enterprise will take a 29% stake in China South City Holdings Ltd., in the latest sign of the authorities stepping up support for ailing real-estate firms.
The spotlight was also on talks by telephone between U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin said Putin was satisfied with the outcome of the discussions. The U.S. and its allies have raised alarm over a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine.
For more market analysis, read our MLIV blog.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
- S&P 500 futures fell 0.3% as of 1 p.m. in Tokyo. The S&P 500 fell 0.3%
- Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.2%. The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.4%
- Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.9%
- Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 1.4%
- China’s Shanghai Composite index added 0.4%
Currencies
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
- The euro was at $1.1316
- The Japanese yen was at 115.09 per dollar
- The offshore yuan was at 6.3746 per dollar
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined four basis points to 1.51% Thursday
- Australia’s 10-year bond yield rose four basis points to 1.67%
Commodities
- West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.5% to $76.62 a barrel
- Gold was at $1,817.29 an ounce, up 0.1%
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