China’s Covid concerns as Beijing expands mass testing

SINGAPORE – Chinese stocks turned from early declines on Tuesday afterwards Sink the day beforedespite Covid concerns in China as Beijing expands mass testing.

The Shanghai boat It was up 0.41%, while Shenzhen Component jumped 0.74%. The CSI 300 Index is up 0.84%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index jumped 1.5%, adding to the morning’s gains after dropping more than 3% the day before. Hang Seng Tech is up more than 4%.

Earlier, China’s central bank released comments from an interview with the Financial Times in which it said it had noticed recent “volatility” in the country’s stock markets, which it said was caused mostly by investor sentiment.

According to the English Commentaries, “At present, the economic foundations of my country are sound, the potential for internal economic growth is enormous, and great progress has been made in preventing and defusing financial risks.” The People’s Bank of China added that it will increase its support for the economy, especially for industries that have been hit hard by the epidemic.

Stocks in the mainland and Hong Kong It’s down on Monday As concerns spread about the spread of the Covid virus and a possible closure in Beijing. Beijing also announced late Monday that the mass testing will be expanded to 10 more regions and one economic development zone, according to Reuters.

ANZ Research analysts Brian Martin and Daniel Hynes wrote on Tuesday: “Markets reacted negatively to news that COVID is spreading more rapidly in China, which raised fears of additional shutdowns and production cuts. This directly affected Asian markets and spread also in global financial markets. note.

Zhang Zhiwei, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, said he sees risks that China’s GDP could shrink in the second quarter.

“Many high-frequency indicators such as mobility, truck charging and coal use in power plants show negative growth. It is not clear where the bottom of this economic slowdown will be without a change in zero-tolerance policy,” he said.

Japan Nikkei 225 Topix is ​​up 0.5%, while Topix is ​​up 0.23%. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.38%.

However, Australian shares slipped as trading resumed from Monday’s holiday. The S & P / ASX 200 It decreased by 2%.

In earnings, HSBC announced its results for the first quarter that showed pre-tax profit fell 27% compared to the previous year, to $4.2 billion. However, it beat the average estimate of $3.72 billion from 16 analysts compiled by HSBC, according to Reuters.

Hong Kong-listed HSBC shares fell 2.8%.

The main miners retreated, as Rio Tinto decreased nearly 4%, Fortescue minerals decreased 6.4% and horse It fell more than 5%.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.84%.

US stocks were in negative territory earlier in the day, but recovered with the close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average cut a nearly 500-point loss on the day Monday, rising 238.06 points, or 0.7%, to 34,049.46. The S&P 500 rose 0.6% to 4,296.12. The heavy Nasdaq Composite Index is up 1.3% at 13,004.85.

The US dollar indexwhich measures the greenback against a basket of other currencies, was at 101.61, extending its rally from levels just above 101.

The Japanese Yen It was trading at 128.08 per dollar, weaker than levels above 127 earlier. The Australian dollar It was at $0.7224, and it rose around $0.71 earlier.

Oil prices rose Tuesday morning in Asian trading after falling on Monday as the COVID situation in China raised demand concerns.

US crude futures contracts It traded 0.84% ​​higher at $99.38 a barrel. international standard Brent crude futures contracts It rose 1.15 percent to $103.50 a barrel.