Chinese stocks rise on stimulus hopes, boosting Asian markets

Chinese stocks rose on growing expectations for economic stimulus, providing a bright spot in an otherwise cautious Asian market ahead of key U.S. jobs data.

China’s benchmark CSI 300 index rose as much as 1.9%, in a sign that investors were positioning for fresh economic support measures from a key policy meeting scheduled on Wednesday. Hong Kong stocks also jumped, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.

An Asian equities gauge swung between gains and losses with benchmarks in Japan, South Korea and Australia all down. The broader downbeat tone in the region came after S&P 500 dropped 0.2% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 slipped 0.3% Thursday, their first declines in five sessions.

“Some of the A-share listed ETFs are seeing elevated volumes,” said Nigel Peh, a fund manager at Timefolio Asset Management in Singapore. “We are having the Central Economic Work Conference next week so maybe some squaring of positions ahead of the event, too.”

China aside, all eyes are on Friday’s US nonfarm payrolls data after bouts of political turmoil in Asia and Europe have triggered a wave of volatility across currency markets but failed to jolt stocks. US jobless claims rose to a one-month high on Thursday, while economists estimate payrolls increased by 220,000 in November, rebounding after two hurricanes and a strike lowered October numbers.

South Korea is another focal point, with the won paring some losses from earlier declines after the nation’s Army Special Forces Commander said there will be no second martial law and he will reject if there is an order of troops deployment. The country’s benchmark stock index fell as much as 1.8% before paring the drop.

Elsewhere in Asia, the Reserve Bank of India held its benchmark repurchase rate at 6.50%, but reduced the cash reserve ratio to ease liquidity pressure. The central bank also said it would take steps to attract more inflows amid a weakening in the rupee, pushing the currency slightly higher against the greenback.

The yen was little changed after fluctuating against the dollar as base salaries for regular workers in Japan rose by a record.

In commodities, oil was flat after OPEC+’s decision to push back the revival of shuttered production by another three months failed to lift sentiment. Meanwhile, Chevron Corp. said it plans to slow production growth in the biggest US oil field next year. Gold edged higher.

Bitcoin pulled back a record high with some traders already seeking to hedge against a deeper retreat after the original cryptocurrency surged to more than $100,000 for the first time. The digital asset held it losses after news that Donald Trump had named David Sacks as a White House czar for crypto and artificial intelligence.

Treasuries were steady in Asia following muted moves on Thursday that favored the long-bonds, with 10-year and 30-year yields slightly lower. Swap trading showed the implied odds of a quarter-point rate cut in the Fed’s December meeting are around 70%.

A stronger headline US nonfarm payroll figure would be warmly welcomed by markets, supporting a theme of normalization rather than a deterioration on the jobs front, according to Oscar Munoz and Gennadiy Goldberg at TD Securities.

“We expect a stronger reading to initially lead to a significant bear-flattening reaction, but see a likelihood that the initial knee-jerk is pared back after markets assess the details,” they noted. “We remain buyers of duration on dips and will look to higher yields as a possible entry point to reestablishing longs.”

A survey conducted by 22V Research shows that 45% of investors believe Friday’s US payrolls data will be “mixed/negligible,” 32% said it will be “risk-off,” and 23% “risk-on.”

News.Az