Covid And Crackdown Clouds Shadow Asian Markets On Drama-Free Day

Asia’s major markets stabilised on Friday as beleaguered investors trudged into the weekend after a painful few days, with confidence dealt a heavy blow by the Delta variant, Chinese regulatory crackdowns, disappointing economic data and brewing geopolitical tensions.

The minor gains came after another tepid lead from Wall Street, which was pulled between better-than-expected US retail sales and an above-forecast reading on jobless claims.

Thursday’s readings were not enough to provide any insight into when the Federal Reserve might start winding down its ultra-loose monetary policy that has been key to a global economic and equity rally for more than a year.

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The main focus for investors is now the bank’s policy meeting next week, where it could say how much and how long it will dial back on the vast bond-buying programme.

“They’ll probably admit they’re going to taper, but maybe not taper as much as everybody thought,” markets strategist Louis Navellier said.

Eyes are also on the progress of Joe Biden’s multi-trillion-dollar infrastructure and social spending plans, which are struggling through Congress. At the same time, lawmakers are still to agree on raising the debt ceiling – bringing the possibility of a catastrophic US default into play.

That all comes against the backdrop of the highly transmissible Delta Covid mutation, which has sent infections around the world surging and forced several countries to reimpose lockdowns and other containment measures.

Among them is China, where a new outbreak has spooked traders just weeks after officials had appeared to have brought another under control. The new flare-up has led to concerns that the world’s number two economy and key driver of world growth, which was already stuttering, could suffer further.

MACAU REELING

The past week has been particularly bad for Hong Kong, where tech firms fell on more regulatory oversight and Macau-based casinos were strafed by plans for a government crackdown.

Some of the gambling industry’s biggest names – including Sands and Wynn – were skittled by Macau government proposals to tighten its grip on the sector, wiping billions of dollars off their values on concerns that a golden era of money-making could be over.

Still, Hong Kong enjoyed a gain on Friday, with casinos and tech seeing much-needed advances, while Shanghai, Seoul, Wellington, Mumbai, Manila and Jakarta were also up. However, Sydney, Singapore, Manila and Bangkok dipped.

The Hang Seng Index rose 1.03%, or 252.91 points, to 24,920.76. But the Shanghai Composite Index edged up 0.19%, or 6.87 points, to 3,613.97, while the Shenzhen Composite Index on China’s second exchange added 0.35%, or 6.50 points, to 2,446.05.

PM RACE

Tokyo resumed its recent upward trend as the ruling party started a leadership election to determine Japan’s next prime minister, with hopes that the winner will push through a massive new stimulus package.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed up 0.58%, or 176.71 points, at 30,500.05, while the broader Topix index gained 0.48%, or 10.01 points, to end the session at 2,100.17.

The general consensus is that the world economy will eventually rebound from the pandemic crisis, and equities will extend gains this year, but some observers are growing cautious.

“Investors just should be prepared for the fact that returns are much more likely to be muted over the next five years than what we’ve really benefited [from] and enjoyed over the last five,” Jim McDonald, of Northern Trust Bank, told Bloomberg Television.

MARKETS

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.6%at 30,500.05 (close)

Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 1.0% at 24,920.76 (close)

Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.2% at 3,613.97 (close)

New York – Dow: DOWN 0.2% at 34,751.32 (close)