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StreetAccount Summary - Asian Market Recap: Hang Seng +1.97%, Shanghai Composite +0.05%, Kospi (0.19%) as of 03:10 ET

Nov 24 ,2025

• Synopsis:

  • Asia equities ended higher almost everywhere Monday. Best of the gains in Australia, supported by several domestic corporate actions; and Hong Kong, where Alibaba and other internet names led. Small gains for Taipei and mainland China boards but Seoul dipped into the close. India a few points higher, Singapore gained but other Southeast Asia benchmarks were weak. US futures higher, Europe opened with gains. US dollar DXY index hovering around 100, little movement of note in Asia currencies. Treasuries not trading, other sovereigns quiet. Crude oil lower, gold and silver under some pressure, industrial metals mixed. Cryptocurrencies finding a base for now.

  • Asia stocks stabilized Monday following last week's rough ride as technology and internet names rallied while several M&A actions in Australia supported the ASX. Asia's rally boosted by a rally into the close Friday on Wall Street as Fed Fund Futures showed a near 70% chance of a rate cut on 10-Dec. Still the overarching theme of last week's volatility persists with doubts over AI-related valuations, wobbly economic data set against optimism over an easing in US tariff threats, particularly over a possible delay to chip tariffs. The sector also received a boost today from Alibaba, which said its ChatGPT rival product had been downloaded more than 10M times since its relaunch last week.

  • Few regional developments today to significantly change the trajectory leftover from Friday's US rally, with Japan also closed to reduce volumes further. BOJ board member Masu signaled a rate hike was close as real rates are deeply negative and well below neutral. Reuters said the White House was considering whether to allow sales of Nvidia H200 AI chips to China, while a Bloomberg source said it was also weighing alternative trade authorities to reinstitute tariffs if the Supreme Court rules against national levies. Singapore inflation was higher than expected in October, decreasing the chances of MAS easing policy this year but central bank governors in Thailand and the Philippines hinted at further rate cuts before year end.

  • Alibaba (9988.HK) said its main Qwen AI app was downloaded more than 10M times in the first week since its relaunch as it looks to build a rival to ChatGPT. JD.com's (9618.HK) supply-chain technology unit has begun gauging interest for a Hong Kong IPO that could raise up to $500M. DBS Holdings (D05.SP) has withdrawn an application to buy up to 49% of Malaysia's Alliance Bank (2488.MK) and replaced it with one for 30%. BHP Group (BHP.AU) has ruled out a bid for Anglo American (AAL.LN) but confirmed it had held talks with the company over reviving last year's takeover attempt. Monash IVF (MVF.AU) received and rejected a joint takeover offer from two private equity groups, Genesis Capital IM and Washington H Soul Pattinson. Qube Holdings (QUB.AU) has received a $7.5B takeover offer from Macquarie AM.

• Digest:

  • US officials internally float idea of allowing sales of Nvidia H200 chips to China:

    • Bloomberg sources indicated early discussions among US officials in recent days on whether to allow Nvidia (NVDA) to sell H200 AI chips to China -- more powerful than the H20 currently permitted for export. Article stressed the idea may not advance from internal discussions. Still, the fact that H200 shipments are being considered at all marks a major departure from the Trump administration's earlier public stance on semiconductor export controls. Nvidia continued to argue the regulatory barrier to China market penetration in data center compute products benefits foreign competitors. Article recalled President Trump earlier floated the possibility of discussing Blackwell chip exports with China's Xi Jinping. Topic ultimately didn't come up during recent talks, but Trump administration didn't take exports of restricted AI chips completely off the table. Treasury Secretary Bessent later said he could imagine exporting Blackwell chips to China once they are no longer the most advanced - possibly in a year or two. According to the story, in the weeks since the Trump-Xi meeting, administration officials have continued to hold quiet discussions on what chips the US could be comfortable selling and that China could also approve. Sources suggested H200 sales seen by some in the administration as a compromise compared to offering Blackwell chips.

  • BOJ's Masu says rate hike is nearing:

    • In a Nikkei interview published Saturday, BOJ board member Masu signaled a rate hike was "close" though could not specify the timing. Asked about Governor Ueda's recent remark that he wanted to "see the initial momentum" ahead of next year's spring wage negotiations, Masu replied the phrasing effectively signaled they are not waiting until after shunto talks conclude. Main justifications were that real rates are deeply negative and below neutral. Played down the notion the BOJ is motivated by rising long-term JGB yields and declined to comment on FX. Noted growing corporate profits indicates capacity to absorb a rate hike, though acknowledged there is variability among sectors and stressed the importance of not hiking too suddenly. On US tariff effects, reiterated the consensus view that full impacts have not been felt though doubts the magnitude will be as high as initially feared -- both in the US and Japan. Wage growth will not easily be derailed owing to structural labor shortages even if the economy weakens somewhat and expects next year's wage growth to be at the same level as this year. Yet, remains unsure of sustainability. Masu explained he didn't cast a dissenting vote at the October MPM because he doesn't think the 2% price stability target has been achieved yet. Doubts food price pressures will continue and judged they wouldn't be behind the curve. Yet, the environment is favorable for raising rates, not as a tightening measure, but as a part of the normalization process.

  • Trump administration working on fallback tariff options if SCOTUS rules against it:

    • Bloomberg sources said Trump administration weighing alternative trade authorities to reinstitute tariffs if SCOTUS rules against national security duties imposed under International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). IEEPA authority allowed Trump to impose reciprocal tariffs and fentanyl tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico. Fallback options include S.301 (targeting unfair trade practices) and S.122 (addressing "large and serious" BoP deficit) of Trade Act. Sectoral tariffs have also been levied under S.232 of Trade Expansion Act. Questions surround extent to which they can replicate IEEPA duties with S.301 requiring an investigation and S.122 tariffs capped at 15% for max 150 days unless Congress approves extension. Bloomberg estimates IEEPA duties account for more than half of current US effective tariff rate of 14.4%. Whether administration can fully replace tariffs could also have market ramifications, particularly bond yields, from renewed concerns about US fiscal trajectory. CBO recently revised down its tariff revenue estimate by $1T, partly reflecting tariff modifications (exempting agricultural imports from reciprocal tariffs). Administration may also be compelled to refund IEEPA duties already collected.

  • Southeast Asia and India central banks mull another rate cut before year end:

    • Thailand and Philippine central bank governors indicated rate cuts before year end possible, while economists now forecast RBI to cut once before potentially pausing. BoT Governor Vitai Ratanakorn reiterated this weekend room to ease policy further but warned Thailand's economy still faced structural problems (Bloomberg). Added baht should be weaker, will intervene to cap recent volatility. Philippines central bank governor Eli Remolona also favors easing to support demand as country reels from corruption scandal (Bloomberg). Said 25 bps cut more likely than 50 bps. Admitted graft probe had affected investor sentiment, led to overseas fund exodus and slowest economic growth in four years in Q3. Local PSE equity benchmark down 8% versus MSCI Asia Pac ex Japan index up around 20%. Meanwhile, economists cited by Times of India appear increasingly optimistic on RBI rate cut at December meeting as inflation fell to cycle lows in October, despite quarterly growth likely above expectations. One economist said conflicting picture made further rate cuts harder to forecast.

  • AI skepticism accompanies pickup in market volatility:

    • Recent pickup in volatility has been accompanied growing skepticism towards the AI rally, driving debate about near-term outlook for markets. Tech-heavy benchmarks in US and Asia have logged steep month-to-date falls, culminating in S&P 500 experiencing its largest intraday swing since April on Thursday. Options market activity indicative of a more risk averse environment with VIX spiking to seven month high (Bloomberg). Concerns about stretched valuations, AI capex ROI, extent of debt-funded spending plans (and related credit market risks), cash burn, and circularity have been compounded by nagging doubts about a December Fed rate cut, weighing on tech and risk assets more broadly. Concentration risks also particularly relevant in Asia, where small number of tech giants have driven bulk of the gains in South Korea and Taiwan. Bulls downplaying pullback as a healthy correction amid a still-strong outlook for AI demand, reinforced by NVDA's earnings and its projections for 2026 (Bloomberg, Reuters). Optimism also a function of relatively undemanding valuations in Asia, where Samsung (005930.KS) and SK Hynix (000660.KS) trading at forward P/Es of 10x and 7x, compared to 16x for MSCI AC Asia Pacific Index (Bloomberg).

  • Notable Gainers:

    • +10% 601238.CH (Guangzhou Automobile Group): starting to produce high-capacity all-solid-state batteries

    • +5.9% 036570.KS (NCsoft): report of approaching private equity firms and securities companies to gauge their interest in subscribing to its exchangeable bonds, targeting to raise approximately KRW200B using half of its 2.1M treasury shares

    • +4.7% 9988.HK (Alibaba Group): its Qwen app has exceeded 10M downloads in the first week of open beta testing

    • +4.2% 042670.KS (HD Hyundai Infracore): Ukraine reconstruction sector move following U.S.-Ukraine meeting which was considered to be constructive and respectful

  • Notable Decliners:

    • -6.8% 348370.KS (Enchem): Jaewon Industries America filed a lawsuit for damages and a permanent injunction against Enchem America and Enchem

    • -3.2% 298380.KS (ABL Bio): report of eyeing big pharma M&A or IPO for U.S. subsidiary Neok Bio

    • -2.4% 151.HK (Want Want China Holdings): reports H1 net income attributable CNY1.72B, (8%) vs year-ago CNY1.86B

    • -0.4% 207940.KS (Samsung Biologics): completes spin off of Samsung Bioepis and resumes trading today

• Data:

  • Economic:

    • Singapore October

      • CPI +1.2% y/y versus consensus +0.9% and +0.7% in prior month

        • Core CPI +1.2% y/y vs consensus +0.7% and +0.4% in prior month

  • Markets:

    • Nikkei: Closed

    • Hang Seng: 496.48 or +1.97% to 25716.50

    • Shanghai Composite: 1.87 or +0.05% to 3836.77

    • Shenzhen Composite: 20.66 or +0.87% to 2390.98

    • ASX200: 108.60 or +1.29% to 8525.10

    • KOSPI: (7.20) or (0.19%) to 3846.06

    • SENSEX: 111.07 or +0.13% to 85342.99

  • Currencies:

    • $-¥: +0.35 or +0.22% to 156.7350

    • $-KRW: +3.76 or +0.26% to 1473.4900

    • A$-$: +0.00 or +0.02% to 0.6456

    • $-INR: (0.37) or (0.41%) to 89.2548

    • $-CNY: (0.00) or (0.03%) to 7.1054