ByBrendan Ahern,
Senior Contributor.
Asian equities were mostly lower overnight, except for Vietnam and Mainland China's STAR Board, while Korea and Japan declined the most.
China and Asia followed Wall Street south overnight on AI valuation concerns and the lack of some economic data from the United States due to the government shutdown. Growth stocks were absolutely punished in Hong Kong, while they held up better in Mainland China, with some semiconductor stocks actually managing gains. Hong Kong volumes were right at the one-year average while Mainland volumes were slightly elevated overnight. Mainland investors were once again net buyers of Hong Kong-listed stocks and ETFs with nearly $1 billion worth of inflow via Southbound Stock Connect, a mutual market access program.
Technology and energy stocks were the hardest hit overnight, though some precious metals stocks saw gains. Macau gaming stocks were lower. No major domestic economic data releases are scheduled for this week, but investors remain cautious ahead of potential moves by the People’s Bank of China regarding loan prime rates on Thursday, though no or little change is expected as the central bank looks to other measures to stimulate consumption growth. Meanwhile, the government overall will be implementing the 15th Five-Year Plan, which could include limited fiscal stimulus.
