The main indicator though will probably be Chinese house prices for the month of February. They fell at an annual rate of 0.7% in January, the biggest decline in almost a year, and have been declining almost every month since April 2022.
A turnaround in the embattled property sector is needed for the broader economy to get going again, and to convince investors that the market and economic nadir has passed.
Curiously, China’s economic surprises index this week rose to its highest level since October, begging the question: strong data, or lousy expectations to begin with? Maybe a bit of both.
A reasonably bullish case, however, could be made for Asian risk assets on Friday. Even though the U.S. 10-year yield and dollar had their biggest rises in a month and Fed rate cut expectations were pared back, Wall Street only fell 0.3%.
Chipmakers and tech stocks across the region could also get a boost from Apple supplier Foxconn saying on Thursday that it expects a significant rise in revenue driven by booming demand for artificial intelligence servers.
