Hang Seng Index, ASX200, Nikkei 225: Hang Seng Hits Reverse

• It was a mixed Thursday morning for the Asian markets, with the Hang Seng Index and Nikkei seeing red while the ASX 200 enjoyed a breakout session.
• Market focus turned away from the tech sector, with concerns over a credit crunch weighing on investor sentiment.
• There were no material economic indicators to distract investors this morning while corporate earnings are in focus.

Market Overview

It was a mixed morning for the Asian markets. The Hang Seng Index and the Nikkei saw morning losses, while the ASX 200 tracked the overnight gains from the Dow Jones.

Investor sentiment toward the bank crisis continued to improve. However, fears of a credit crunch lingered with investors in wait-and-see mode to assess the impact of Fed rate hikes on the global economy.

There were no material stats from the US to influence market sentiment this morning. It was also a quiet Asian session, with no economic indicators from the region to distract investors.

After gains on Wednesday, the US futures were in the red this morning. The NASDAQ and the Dow were both down 25 points.

ASX 200

The ASX 200 was up 0.91%, with bank and commodity stocks delivering support. Risk-on sentiment drove demand for commodity stocks. Easing banking sector jitters supported a bullish session for the big-4.

National Australia Bank (NAB) was in recovery mode, rising by 1.78%, with Westpac Banking Corp (WBC) and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) seeing gains of 1.50% and 1.53%, respectively. ANZ Group (ANZ) trailed the front runners, rising by 1.02%.

Mining stocks were on the move. Rio Tinto (RIO) and BHP Group Ltd (BHP) were up by 1.51% and 2.24%, respectively, with Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) gaining 1.30%. However, Newcrest Mining (NCM) bucked the trend, falling by 1.24%.

Oil stocks struggled this morning. Woodside Energy Group (WDS) and Santos Ltd (STO) saw losses of 0.27% and 1.00%, respectively. Demand fears weighed on crude oil prices this morning. Brent Crude was down 0.49% to $77.90.

Hang Seng Index

The Hang Seng was down 0.69% this morning. Market sentiment toward the Alibaba news from Wednesday failed to resonate this morning despite a morning press conference providing further details of the overhaul.

However, earnings are in focus, with China Construction Bank and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China among the big names delivering earnings results.

Considering the main components, Tencent Holdings Ltd (HK:0700) was down 0.94%, while Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (HK:9988) gained 0.42%.

It was also a mixed morning for banking stocks. HSBC Holdings PLC rose by 0.19%, while China Construction Bank (HK: 0939) and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (HK:1398) fell by 1.57% and 1.63%, respectively.

CNOOC (HK: 0883) reversed a bullish Wednesday session, falling by 2.04%.

Nikkei 225

The Nikkei 225 was down 1.51% this morning, with a weaker USD/JPY contributing to the pullback.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (8316) and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group fell by 1.98% and 1.62%, respectively.

Looking at the main components, KDDI Corp (9433) and SoftBank Group Corp. (9984) saw losses of 2.47% and 2.33%, respectively.

However, Fast Retailing Co (9983) and Sony Corp (6758) rose by 0.28% and 2.04%, respectively.

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