Asian equities were mostly higher, with the exception of India, following yesterday’s market holiday for Holi. In his speech at the China Development Forum, PBOC head Pan Gongsheng highlighted China’s economic recovery, mentioning supportive monetary policy and positive signals in the real estate market. This led to gains in the real estate sector in Hong Kong and Mainland China. Despite some fluctuations, both markets ended in the green, with various earnings releases impacting market action. Key gainers included Anta Sports, PetroChina, China Merchants Bank, and China Resources Land Group.
Hong Kong’s most heavily traded stocks included Tencent, which saw positive gains, AIA, Meituan, Alibaba, and Xiaomi. After the close, Alibaba decided to pull its logistics arm Cainiao’s Hong Kong IPO to buy out minority shareholders. Baidu also saw a gain after collaborating with Apple on artificial intelligence. Mainland investors bought a significant amount of Hong Kong-listed stocks overnight, with value stocks outperforming. CATL, the world’s largest battery maker, saw gains on CEO comments about developing a better battery for Tesla, while foreign investors bought a decent amount of Mainland stocks via Northbound Stock Connect.
Despite negative media narratives and US-China tensions, the markets continued to hold steady, with the Hang Seng and Hang Seng Tech indexes gaining on increased volumes. The value factor and large caps outperformed the growth factor and small caps. In Shanghai and Shenzhen, stocks closed with some variances, with the STAR Board seeing a slight decline. The top-performing sectors were Communication Services, Technology, and Financials, while Utilities, Materials, and Energy fell. Northbound Stock Connect volumes were moderate to high, with foreign investors buying Mainland stocks.
Looking ahead, there is a webinar scheduled on March 27th focusing on the electric vehicle opportunity in portfolios. New content includes an article on defined outcome strategies in China’s internet sector. The performance of CNY against USD and EUR remained stable, while yields on government and China Development Bank bonds fluctuated slightly. Copper and steel prices saw a decrease. Overall, Asian markets showed resilience and positive movements despite global challenges, with investors continuing to show interest in various sectors and opportunities.
