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By Jamie McGeever, Columnist, Global Finance & Markets
Friday, March 31, 2023
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Asian markets go into the final trading day of the quarter in a buoyant mood, ready to face Friday’s barrowload of regional economic data with a sense of optimism and resilience that would barely have been believable a few weeks ago.
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People walk past a screen displaying the Hang Seng stock index outside Hong Kong Exchanges, in Hong Kong, China July 19, 2022. REUTERS/Lam Yik
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Maybe it is just window-dressing for the end of the quarter, but investors are driving risky assets higher across the board, doing their best to make the banking crisis of March 2023 look like a blip in the rear-view mirror.
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Another solid performance on Wall Street on Thursday should set the tone for Asian stocks on Friday, with tech again leading the way. U.S. financials was the only S&P 500 sector to fall on Thursday, but they are still up 3% this week, the best week since January.
It remains to be seen how successful U.S. authorities have been in ring-fencing banks from contagion, and there is little doubt that deteriorating credit conditions will be a drag on growth.
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Right now though, it’s ‘risk on’ globally – the MSCI Asia ex-Japan equity index is up three weeks in a row, the MSCI World is having its best week since mid-January, and the Hang Seng tech index is at a six-week high.
Although bond yields and the Fed rate outlook have picked up in the last two weeks, they are still significantly below the historic peaks pre-banking shock. Tech, in particular, is on a roll.
Further indications that China is reversing the sweeping regulatory crackdown on its technology sector of recent years is also adding fuel to the rally.
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After investors gave Alibaba’s restructuring plans this week a big thumbs up, e-commerce firm JD.com said on Thursday it plans to spin off its property and industrial units and list them on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
U.S.-listed shares in JD.com jumped 8% on Thursday, U.S.-listed shares of Alibaba are up 20% in the last three sessions, the Nasdaq 100 is flirting with a bull market – up more than 20% from its December low – and the wider Nasdaq is up 15% this year.
On the Asian data front on Friday, investors have no shortage of potential market-movers, including: Chinese PMIs for March; Japanese unemployment, retail sales and industrial production; and private sector credit figures from Australia.
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Here are three key developments that could provide more direction to markets on Friday:
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- China NBS manufacturing and services PMI (March)
- Euro zone flash CPI inflation (March)
- U.S. PCE inflation (February)
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Graphics are produced by Reuters.
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Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.
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