Mar 06 ,2026
Synopsis:
Asian equities ended mixed Friday. The Hang Seng, China mainland boards and Japan ended higher while South Korea's Kospi and Singapore's STI traded back to the flatline by the close. A small loss for Taiwan. Australia underperformed and Indonesia's IDX fell the most after Fitch cut its outlook to negative. India also sliding again but set to finish the week as a relative outperformer. US futures higher, Europe opened with small gains. US dollar lower, AUD and NZD stronger, onshore and offshore yuan mixed, yen flatlining. Treasuries and JGBs mixed. Crude oil futures off their recent highs, precious metals higher. Base metals higher as iron ore reaches a month-long high. Cryptocurrencies off recent highs.
Asia stocks rallied off recent bases and several posted solid gains as crude prices eased and currencies recovered. Several factors pressing on oil prices. The US said it was examining measures to counter the recent rise in energy prices including a release of stockpiles from its strategic reserve, possibly in coordination with other countries. China is said to be talking to Iran over safe passage of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, the US also gave India refiners a 30-day waiver to buy Russian crude currently stranded at sea. Nevertheless, the week's poor underlying sentiment in the equity markets remains intact as economists and central banks fret over the impact of higher crude prices on domestic inflation. Both the Japan and Philippine central banks today warned of hawkish tilts that could come from prolonged higher oil prices.
In regional developments, South Korea's CPI remained unchanged in February while core inflation firmed slightly. Meanwhile, the Bank of Korea said higher oil prices could fan inflation pressures from March. Rating agency Fitch lowered Indonesia's credit rating outlook to negative from stable but kept its overall BBB rating. The PBOC governor said China has 'no intention' to use forex to gain trade competitiveness.
Denso Corp (6902.JP) made a takeover approach to Rohm Co (6963.JP) in February that would value it at around ¥1.3T ($8.3B), according to Nikkei reports. SoftBank (9984.JP) is looking for a 12-month bridge loan of up to $40B to help finance its investment in OpenAI. JD.com (9618.HK) posted first quarterly loss since the pandemic era as consumer spending dries up. India's HPCL (500104.IN) has resumed purchases of Russian oil after a three-month gap just as the US issues permits for limited imports.
Digest:
US weighs response to surging energy prices:
Surging oil prices rattling market sentiment amid concerns halt to Strait of Hormuz shipping flows will lead to more production shut-ins as storage capacity is reached. Attention increasingly on potential mitigation measures to put downward pressure on energy prices. US Interior Secretary Burgum told Bloomberg all options under consideration with press sources mentioning measures such as SPR release in coordination with other countries tapping their reserves, waiving fuel-blending requirements, Treasury Department trading oil futures (Reuters) and federal gasoline tax holiday (Reuters). Asia particularly vulnerable to energy disruptions with China and India among largest crude importers. Bloomberg noting Saudi Aramco raised price of crude for Asia buyers to $2.50 above April benchmark, most since Aug-2022. Reuters sources said China in talks with Iran to allow vessels safe passage. Treasury Secretary Bessent announced Indian refiners given 30-day waiver to continue purchasing Russian crude stranded at sea (Times of India). Russian crude currently positioned near Indian waters reportedly could arrive within weeks.
China's growth target this year carefully calibrated, says senior official:
In a press briefing on economic affairs at NPC, China's state planner NDRC head Zheng Shanjie said China's GDP increments will be expected to exceed CNY6T ($870B) this year, considering growth target of 4.5% to 5%. Added it will provide strong support to stabilize employment, improve people's livelihoods and prevent risks. Said this year's growth target was carefully calibrated to incorporate room for structural adjustments and China has solid foundation to achieve it. Zheng reaffirmed support for consumption, including continuation of consumer goods trade-in programs, and expected China's services sector to top 100T over next five years. On government investments, China will upgrade "six networks" comprising water, power, computing, new communication and urban underground pipes and logistics. Added areas including low-altitude economy, consumption, AI+, education and healthcare, among others, will see combined investment exceeding CNY7T in 2026. Zheng said China will improve efficiency and synergy of macroeconomic policies to enhance coordination across fiscal, monetary and industrial policies.
South Korea CPI unchanged in February, meets BOK target:
South Korea February CPI rose 2.0% y/y, unchanged from January, exactly at BOK target rate, marginally below consensus. Statistics ministry said headline prices rose 0.3% m/m while core inflation rose 2.3% y/y but data reflects period prior to Middle East conflict. BOK cognizant country vulnerable to higher crude prices thatpush up import prices, leads to higher CPI within two months, according to economists cited by Bloomberg. Brent crude up nearly 16% MTD. Bank last week raised FY inflation forecast to 2.2% from 2.1%; indicated optimism prices will stay near target rate to year end however jump in energy prices could cloud this view. By component, petroleum prices rose 2.4%, food 1.7%, services 2.6%, industrial goods 1.2% (Yonhap). Separate data showed Seoul house prices rose marginally again last week although continued recent trend of deceleration with high-end areas seeing slight decline (Bloomberg).
Fitch cuts Indonesia's credit rating outlook on policy uncertainty:
Fitch credit rating agency cut Indonesia's outlook to negative from stable Friday to reflect increased policy uncertainty, 'erosion of country's policy mix consistency and credibility' although kept its BBB rating. Warned growing centralization of policymaking could weaken fiscal outlook, undermine investor sentiment, place additional pressure on external buffers. Decision flagged earlier this week but still led 10Y sovereign bond yields to rise, local stocks to sink with the IDX ending around 2.2% lower (Bloomberg). Rupiah weakened this week under as US dollar strengthened while soft forex reserves data Friday added to pressure. Sovereign bonds, currency under pressure since President Prabowo pledged expansion fiscal policy last year without clear indication of how it would be paid for; stocks under additional pressure in past month on threats by MSCI, FTSE Russell over downgrade to frontier market status.)
Notable Gainers:
+23.0% 2618.HK (JD Logistics): reports Q4 results; revenue CNY63.53B vs FactSet CNY62.50B
+11.3% 251270.KS (Netmarble): analyst notes profitability is expected to improve as Google cuts app fees to 20%
+10.8% 066970.KS (L&F Co.): LGES reportedly uses L&F cathodes instead of those from LG Chem for Tesla batteries
+10.0% 9618.HK (JD.com): reports Q4 results; revenue CNY352.28B vs FactSet CNY351.58B
+8.6% 6869.JP (Sysmex): to launch up-to-¥30.00B buyback; formulates new mid-term management plan; guides FY29 ROE 12.0% or more
+5.3% 13.HK (Hutchmed): reports FY results; net income attributable $456.9M vs FactSet $473.0M
+0.6% 051910.KS (LG Chem): LGES reportedly uses L&F cathodes instead of those from LG Chem for Tesla batteries
Notable Decliners:
-5.8% 1913.HK (Prada): reports FY results; net income €851.9M vs StreetAccount €853.0M
-5.3% 3563.JP (Food & Life Companies): parasite eggs reportedly found on tuna in one of Sushiro's Beijing branches; Beijing Mentougou District Market Supervision Bureau has carried out on-site inspection
-3.3% 6902.JP (DENSO Corp.): reportedly proposes to acquire Rohm
-2.3% 8233.JP (Takashimaya): Takashimaya holder City Index Eleventh decreases stake to 3.34% from 6.16%
-1.1% 5801.JP (Furukawa Electric Co.): chairman Keiichi Kobayashi to step down, effective 26-Jun
Data:
Economic:
South Korea February
CPI +2.0% y/y vs consensus +2.1% and +2.0% in prior month
CPI ex-food & energy +2.3% vs +2.0% in prior month
Markets:
Nikkei: 342.78 or +0.62% to 55620.84
Hang Seng: 435.95 or +1.72% to 25757.29
Shanghai Composite: 15.63 or +0.38% to 4124.19
Shenzhen Composite: 25.50 or +0.95% to 2698.32
ASX200: (89.30) or (1.00%) to 8851.00
KOSPI: 0.97 or +0.02% to 5584.87
SENSEX: (588.83) or (0.74%) to 79427.07
Currencies:
$-¥: (0.05) or (0.03%) to 157.5090
$-KRW: (11.34) or (0.77%) to 1470.4700
A$-$: +0.01 or +0.73% to 0.7039
$-INR: (0.12) or (0.13%) to 91.6615
$-CNY: +0.01 or +0.08% to 6.8973
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