Jan 28 ,2026
Synopsis:
Asia equities ended largely higher Wednesday. The Hang Seng outperformed in a broad rally to a more than four-year high while mainland markets finished a few points higher. More strong gains for South Korea and Taiwan, India higher on signing of EU trade deal. Japan benchmarks mixed. Small losses in Australia and Singapore. Indonesia stocks substantially lower after MSCI warned over a possible downgrade. European markets opened higher, US futures higher. US dollar still under pressure following overnight losses, Asia currencies giving up a little of yesterday's gains. Treasury yields higher, JGB yields lower across tenors. Crude oil futures gaining slightly. Gold, silver and platinum all higher again. Copper prices higher but iron ore a little lower. Cryptocurrencies down.
Asia equities ended with more gains but Wednesday's action was a little more uneven. The MSCI Asia Pac ex Japan index surged more than 1.5% to a fresh record high buoyed by ongoing rotation into emerging market assets and a rally in regional currencies, aided by a sinking US dollar. Overnight, President Trump accelerated the dollar's recent weakening trajectory, saying he was unconcerned with its decline. Yen concerns also still ongoing just as it weakened modestly today with traders still on alert for a possible joint US-Japan intervention program after finance minister Katayama issued more verbal warnings.
In regional developments, Indonesia's stock benchmark plunged as much as 8% after MSCI warned over a possible downgrade to Frontier status or a lowering of the country's weighing in various indices on liquidity and ownership concerns. President Trump said the US would 'work something out' with South Korea over his threat yesterday to impose a 25% tariff for failing to ratify the US trade agreement. Australia Q4 inflation remained elevated to firm expectations of a RBA rate hike in February. BOJ meeting minutes revealed broad agreement among members that rate hikes should continue.
Softbank (9984.JP) is in talks to invest up to $30B more into OpenAI. BYD (1211.HK) is considering options over expansion in India including local assembly plants to meet surging local demand. Two of China Vanke's (2202.HK) bond holders agreed to delay payments in the bulk of payments for a year, paving the way for a full debt restricting plan. LG Energy Solution (373220.KS) is in battery supply talks with TSLA and Chinese humanoid companies. SK Innovation (096770.KS) said the termination of a battery joint venture with Ford Motor resulted in a KRW3.7T ($2.6B) loss. SK Hynix (000660.KS) is to establish a US-based subsidiary that will focus on AI investment.
Digest:
Dollar slides after Trump say he is not concerned about its weakness:
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday President Trump said he is not concerned with dollar's decline, describing it as "great" (FT, Bloomberg). Comments accelerated dollar selloff against other currencies with DXY hitting four-year low, which corresponded with another surge in precious metals. Dollar had been deteriorating over recent weeks as combination of tariff headline volatility, NATO tensions, renewed Fed independence concerns and government partisanship/shutdown risks weighed on global investor sentiment towards US assets. Reports of NY Fed rate check late last week fanned speculation of US participation in joint action to prop up yen by selling dollars. Latest development adds to debate about administration's true stance on dollar with Trump's comments suggesting they favor weaker currency to support exports. Publicly, senior officials like Treasury Secretary Bessent have spoken in favor of strong dollar but he has also drawn attention in recent weeks after sharing concerns about depreciation of yen and Korean won. Trump echoed those concerns on Tuesday, criticizing nations like China and Japan for consistently devaluing their currencies.
China approves first batch of H200 imports:
Reuters, citing two people familiar with the matter, reported China has approved the first batch of Nvidia (NVDA) H200 imports, marking a shift in position as China seeks to balance its AI needs against spurring domestic development. Green light said to cover several hundred thousand units and decided during CEO Huang's visit to China this week. Allocations going primarily to three unnamed major Chinese internet companies with other firms on a waiting list. H200 has been a contentious topic in US-China relations. Despite strong demand in China (tech firms said to have placed orders numbering more than 2M units) and US having approved exports, Beijing's hesitation has posed the main barrier. It was unclear in recent weeks whether Beijing would grant approval as the government wants to balance meeting surging domestic demand for advanced AI chips and nurturing its domestic semiconductor industry. Recalled an earlier report indicated Chinese customs were prohibiting H200 chips from entering the country. Article noted future allocations remain unclear and what criteria Beijing is using to determine eligibility. H200 approval suggest Beijing is prioritizing needs of internet companies and acknowledging domestic capabilities are not yet sufficient.
Trump says will work something out with South Korea following tariff threat:
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, President Trump said will "work something out with South Korea", a day after he threatened to raise tariffs because its parliament had not yet enacted trade deal struck last year (Yonhap). Responding to tariff threat, South Korea's ruling Democratic Party said it would look to hold vote on bill next month (CNBC). Markets ignored tariff threat, underlining long-held skepticism Trump will follow-through. Trump also gave no timeframe for when South Korea tariff hike will go into effect, and Blue House said it received no formal notification about impending tariff hike. Press articles suggested other motivations may be at play, including US concerns about digital regulations and discriminatory probes into American tech firms. South Korea's investigation into Coupang data leak reportedly a source of friction after press sources said VP Vance warned South Korean PM Kim last week against penalizing US tech companies (Bloomberg). There has also been some uncertainty surrounding South Korea's $350B investment pledge after Finance Minister Koo voiced doubts about this year's $20B investment proceeding amid exchange rate volatility.
Australian underlying inflation firms, RBA rate hike eyed:
Australian Q4 trimmed mean inflation slowed to in-line 0.9% q/q from 1.0% in Q3%. Yearly rate rose to 3.4% y/y from 3.0% in Q3, just above consensus 3.3%. December headline inflation rose to 3.8% y/y from 3.4%, higher than consensus 3.6%. Trimmed mean inflation climbed to in-line 3.3% from 3.2%. Main contributors to December figure were housing with electricity inflation rising to 21.5% from 19.7% following expiration of energy rebates. New dwelling costs also saw quicker growth while recreation category was another driver amid rise in domestic holiday travel and accommodation. Goods inflation rose to 3.4% from 3.3%, outpaced by services inflation jumping to 4.1% from 3.6%. Data firmed probability of RBA rate hike next month with OIS pricing moving to 74% from 63% prior to data (Bloomberg). ANZ joined several other economists in predicting RBA rate hike next month. More broadly, inflation print seen playing into RBA's concerns about an economy operating near its speed limit following hot Australian jobs data that reinforced signs of a still-tight labor market, resilient household spending underpinned by rising incomes, and easier financial conditions translating to brisk rise in home prices.
Indonesia stocks slide after MSCI warns on possible downgrade:
Indonesia's Jakarta Composite Index sank almost 8.0% Wednesday, triggering 30-minute suspension, after MSCI raised concerns over investability, warned it could face downgrade to frontier market status. Said country has until May to make progress on transparency when it will reassess; could lead to reduction in weighting across MSCI fleet of indexes or full downgrade (JakartaGlobe). Among worst hit stocks Wednesday were those expected to join MSCI benchmarks including Bumi Resources (BUMI.IJ), Petrosea (PTRO.IJ) after MSCI said it would pause changes until regulators address concerns. Cited "fundamental investability issues" amid accusations of coordinated efforts to distort prices, ownership concentration. Decision comes after MSCI changed definition of free float for Jakarta-listed equities, said was considering alternative data source. Authorities responded with plans to raise minimum float to 10-15% from 7.5%; compares against Thailand's 15%, Hong Kong and India's 25% (Bloomberg).
Notable Gainers:
+10% 2337.TT (Macronix International): reportedly guides FY capex NT$22B
+9.8% 9697.JP (Capcom): reports 9M results; operating income ¥54.30B, +75% vs year-ago ¥31.02B
+5.5% 373220.KS (LG Energy Solution): reports full FY results; reportedly in talks with Tesla and multiple Chinese humanoid companies regarding battery supply
+4.7% 1308.HK (SITC International Holdings): guides FY net income attributable $1.20-1.23B vs FactSet $1.19B
+3.7% 9984.JP (SoftBank Group): reportedly in talks ?to invest up to an additional $30B in OpenAI
Notable Decliners:
-11.9% 2669.HK (China Overseas Property Holdings): guides FY net income attributable (9-10%) vs prior year's restated CNY1.51B, implying CNY1.36-1.37B vs FactSet CNY1.59B; JPMorgan downgrades to underweight from overweight
-11.2% 4063.JP (Shin-Etsu Chemical): reports Q3 results; operating income ¥164.0B vs StreetAccount ¥169.06B; to launch secondary offering for holders of 23.7M shares
-3.0% 096770.KS (SK Innovation): reports FY results; decides not to pay final dividend vs year-ago KRW2,000/share
-2.5% 000270.KS (Kia Corp.): reports Q4 results; operating profit KRW1.843T vs StreetAccount KRW1.873T; guides FY operating profit KRW10.2T vs FactSet KRW10.385T
-1.0% 1910.HK (Samsonite Group): appoints Thomas R. Pizzuti as CFO, effective 2-Feb
-0.2% 9434.JP (SoftBank Corp): reports leak of personal information in 8,375 cases due to proxy server software error
Data:
Economic:
Australia
Q4 headline CPI +0.6% q/q vs consensus +0.6% and +1.3% in Q3
Trimmed mean CPI +0.9% q/q vs consensus +0.9% and +1.0% in Q3
Trimmed mean +3.4% y/y vs consensus +3.3% and +3.0% in Q3
December CPI +3.8% y/y vs consensus +3.6% and +3.4% in November
Trimmed mean CPI +3.3% y/y vs consensus +3.3% and +3.2% in November
Markets:
Nikkei: 25.17 or +0.05% to 53358.71
Hang Seng: 699.96 or +2.58% to 27826.91
Shanghai Composite: 11.33 or +0.27% to 4151.24
Shenzhen Composite: (0.21) or (0.01%) to 2718.05
ASX200: (7.70) or (0.09%) to 8933.90
KOSPI: 85.96 or +1.69% to 5170.81
SENSEX: 129.35 or +0.16% to 81986.83
Currencies:
$-¥: +0.33 or +0.21% to 152.5200
$-KRW: (5.44) or (0.38%) to 1425.2900
A$-$: (0.00) or (0.09%) to 0.7004
$-INR: +0.22 or +0.24% to 91.6713
$-CNY: (0.01) or (0.15%) to 6.9441
This information and data is provided for general informational purposes only. The Bank of New York Mellon and our information suppliers do not warrant or guarantee the accuracy, timeliness or completeness of this information or data. We provide no advice nor recommendation or endorsement with respect to any company or securities. We do not undertake any obligation to update or amend this information or data. Nothing herein shall be deemed to constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy securities.
Please refer to "Terms Of Use".
DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS:
NOT FDIC, STATE OR FEDERAL AGENCY INSURED
MAY LOSE VALUE
NO BANK, STATE OR FEDERAL AGENCY GUARANTEE