Hang Seng Index, ASX200, Nikkei 225: ASX 200 Breaks Out

• It was a bullish Tuesday morning for the Asian markets, with the ASX 200 leading the recovery.
• Easing banking sector jitters delivered support through the morning session.
• Economic indicators from Australia had a muted impact on the ASX 200, while an overnight jump in crude oil prices moved the dial.

Market Overview

It was a bullish morning for the Asian markets. The ASX 200 made a move while the Hang Seng Index and Nikkei 225 trailed.

Easing banking sector jitters supported demand for riskier assets. The shift in sentiment toward the banking sector comes ahead of the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs meeting in an open session this afternoon to conduct a hearing on “Recent Bank Failures and the Federal Regulatory Response.”

The US futures supported the bullish morning, with the Dow mini up 49 points and the NASDAQ mini rising by 20.5 points.

While economic data was on the light side, a likely pause by central banks to assess the impact of synchronized interest rate hikes to tackle inflation was also market-friendly.

ASX 200

The ASX 200 was up 1.10%, with commodity stocks delivering support. News of Liontown Resources (LTR) rejecting a buyout bid from Albemarle Corp contributed to the upside. Liontown Resources surged by 64.59%.

However, Australian retail sales figures had a limited impact on the ASX 200. Retail sales increased by 0.2% in February versus 1.8% in January.

Easing banking sector jitters supported the big-4. ANZ Group (ANZ) and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) saw gains of 1.52% and 1.47%, respectively. Westpac Banking Corp (WBC) and National Australia Bank (NAB) were up 1.39% and 1.26%, respectively.

Mining stocks were also on the move. Rio Tinto (RIO) and BHP Group Ltd (BHP) rose by 0.69% and 1.72%, respectively, with Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) gaining 1.21%. However, Newcrest Mining (NCM) bucked the trend, falling by 1.06%.

It was a bullish session for oil stocks. Woodside Energy Group (WDS) and Santos Ltd (STO) rallied 4.48% and 2.52%, respectively. A jump in crude oil prices on supply concerns supported the bullish session.

Hang Seng Index

The Hang Seng was up 0.57% this morning. There were no economic indicators to influence sentiment following the disappointing industrial profit numbers from China on Monday.

Considering the main components, Tencent Holdings Ltd (HK:0700) rallied by 3.80%, while Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (HK:9988) fell by 1.52%.

It was a bullish morning for banking stocks. HSBC Holdings PLC gained 1.55%, with China Construction Bank (HK: 0939) and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (HK:1398) rising by 0.60 and 0.96%, respectively.

CNOOC (HK: 0883) was up 0.89% in response to the rise in crude oil prices.

Nikkei 225

The Nikkei 225 was up 0.07% this morning, with a weaker USD/JPY capping the upside.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (8316) and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group rallied 3.02% and 2.47%, respectively.

Looking at the main components, KDDI Corp (9433) and Fast Retailing Co (9983) rose by 1.10% and 0.58%, respectively, with SoftBank Group Corp. (9984) up by 0.02%.

However, Sony Corp (6758) and Tokyo Electron (8035) saw losses of 1.53% and 0.92%, respectively.

Check out our economic calendar for today’s economic events.