Chinese stocks jump as authorities step up support: Markets wrap

(Bloomberg) — Chinese stocks rose after policymakers took more steps to revive investor confidence, defying broader weakness in Asia following a technology-led decline on Wall Street.

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A gauge of Chinese companies listed in Hong Kong jumped as much as 3.8%, while the CSI 300 index of mainland stocks rose 1.8%. Real estate stocks led the gains after banks intensified their financing assistance to the troubled sector. A new crackdown on trading through quantitative funds has also reduced concerns about short selling.

This contrasts with losses in other Asian markets from Japan to South Korea and Australia, after the Nasdaq 100 fell nearly 1% and the S&P 500 fell below 5,000 on Tuesday. The focus is on chipmaker Nvidia Corp's earnings and minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting scheduled for later Wednesday. US stock futures fell.

“AI hype has waned a bit and there may be some rotation within North Asia to China, which is still seeing post-holiday cheer from relatively better consumer spending data, while market stabilization measures continue,” said Marvin Chen, a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst. “. .

Elsewhere, HSBC Holdings Plc's fourth-quarter profit fell 80% after taking charges on its holdings in a Chinese bank and from the sale of its French retail operations. Aluminum rose amid speculation that a new wave of US sanctions against Russia may target the metal, potentially disrupting supplies.

The dollar stabilized and 10-year Treasury bond yields witnessed little change in Asian trading, while the continuing downward trend around steel demand expectations in China pushed iron ore to its lowest level in three months.

In Japan, a recent loss of momentum has kept the Nikkei 225 from reaching its all-time closing high of 38,915.87 in 1989. However, macro and equity hedge funds are betting on Japan this year, anticipating the central bank will change policy after eight years. . Years of negative interest rates. The yen stabilized at around 150 yen to the dollar, as the country's exports rose more than expected in January.

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Nvidia Neuro

The ongoing earnings season so far has underscored the view that corporate America is holding up well, although the reporting period has been mixed for the “Greater 7” giants. Among other highlights of the US session, Walmart Inc. After announcing strong profits, while Palo Alto Networks Inc. fell. in late trading after cutting its revenue forecast for this year.

Ahead of Nvidia's numbers, some traders decided to take profits – with the market also weighing in on a report that Microsoft Corp is developing a network card as an alternative to one provided by the chip maker.

The AI ​​craze has boosted technology-related stocks, and Nvidia is one of the few companies that has shown significant growth in its AI revenues.

Minutes from the Fed's January meeting are also scheduled to be released on Wednesday, providing traders with more clues on where policymakers stand on the timeline for interest rate cuts. Faster-than-expected inflation last week raised concerns that the Federal Reserve may not start cutting interest rates as soon — or as much — as market participants expected earlier this year.

Both oil and gold rose.

Main events this week:

• Consumer confidence in the euro zone, Wednesday

• Nvidia earnings Wednesday

• The Federal Reserve releases minutes from its January meeting on Wednesday

• Atlanta Fed President Rafael Bostic speaks Wednesday

• Eurozone Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for global services, S&P Global Manufacturing Index, and Consumer Price Index, Thursday

• US Initial Jobless Claims and US Existing Home Sales, Thursday

• The European Central Bank releases its January meeting account, Thursday

• Fed Governor Lisa Cook and Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari speak Thursday

• Real estate prices in China today, Friday

• Germany Ifo Business Climate, GDP, Friday

• The European Central Bank publishes its one- and three-year inflation expectations survey on Friday

Some key movements in the markets:

Stores

• S&P 500 futures were down 0.1% as of 1:37 p.m. Tokyo time.

• Japan's Topix index fell 0.3%.

• Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.7%.

• The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong rose 3%.

• The Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.7%.

• Euro Stoxx 50 futures were unchanged

• Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.3%

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed

• There was little change in the euro at $1.0815

• There was little change in the Japanese yen at 149.95 to the dollar

• The yuan in external transactions rose 0.2 percent to 7.1869 per dollar

• The Australian dollar rose 0.3 percent to $0.6567

Digital currencies

• Bitcoin fell 0.4% to $51,841.01

• Ether was little changed at $2,989.89

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasury bonds was little changed at 4.27%.

• The yield on 10-year Japanese bonds settled at 0.725%.

• The 10-year Australian bond yield was little changed at 4.18%.

Goods

• West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.3% to $77.27 a barrel

• Gold in spot transactions rose 0.3 percent to $2,030.55 per ounce

This story was produced with assistance from Bloomberg Automation.

-With assistance from Rob Verdonk.

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