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StreetAccount Summary - Asian Market Recap: Nikkei +2.88%, Hang Seng +2.17%, Shanghai Composite +0.65% as of 04:10 ET

Mar 10 ,2026

• Synopsis:

  • Asia equities ended higher Tuesday following a sharp downward correction in crude prices. Monday's underperformers led with strong gains in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. Hong Kong rallied around 2.2% while mainland China benchmarks also gained. Singapore and the rest of Southeast Asia gained while India sees more modest gains. US futures higher, EU benchmarks opened with strong gains. US dollar lower, most Asia currencies mixed with AUD gaining noticeably. Treasuries mixed, JGB yields mostly lower. Crude prices down around 6% each with WTI at around $87/bl and Brent $90/bl. Precious metals higher, base metals mixed. Cryptocurrencies higher.

  • Markets reactively positively to overnight developments in the Middle East, which led crude prices to drop to around $90 each by the close of Asia trading. First, President Trump said the war was 'very complete' but also gave ambiguous messages, saying it would 'end soon' while vowing to continue until Iran was 'decisively defeated'. G7 nations said late Monday they were ready to act on surging oil prices following a request from the IEA but held off on tapping reserves. President Trump also threatened Iran with increased bombing if it attacked ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz but Tehran vowed to keep the oil blockade going until the US/Israel attacks end. Meanwhile, India's government invoked a rationing act that prioritizes delivery of gas to households as supplies dwindled.

  • Elsewhere, China's Jan-Feb export growth was substantially stronger than expectations as shipments to the EU and ASEAN grew, and more than offset a decline in exports to the US. Imports also grew by more than expected but the trade surplus still reached a record high for the period. Australia February business sentiment turned negative as firms turned cautious after the RBA rate hike; March consumer sentiment rose to reverse a decline last month. Japan's Q4 GDP growth was revised higher to 1.3% from an initial estimate of 0.2% supported by strong consumption; January nominal wages grew at their fastest pace in six months at 3% y/y, beating market estimates; personal spending fell 1%, deaccelerating its contraction m/m. South Korea Q4 GDP growth was also revised higher marginally although still saw a contraction of 0.2%.

  • Tencent (700.HK) shares substantially higher amid a positive reception to its WorkBuddy AI agent with OpenClaw compatibility; Knowledge Atlas (2513.HK) also Tencent and MiniMax (100.HK) in releasing AutoClaw. CATL (3750.HK) boosted overseas car sales and growing energy-storage business to offset a domestic price war, boosting FY profits. LG Chem (051910.KS) shareholder Palliser Capital published a plan to 'recharge' the company ahead of its AGM.

• Digest:

  • China trade off to a strong start in 2026:

    • Dollar-denominated exports rose 21.8% y/y in first two months of 2026, far outpacing estimates 7.1% and 6.6% growth in December. Strong figures defy last year's high base and demonstrated resilience of Chinese economy despite trade tensions with Washington. Meanwhile data recorded before breakout of Iran war, posing new risks for Chinese exporters as economic fallout spreads globally (Bloomberg, CNBC, SCMP). China usually combines trade statistics for January and February to smooth impact of LNY holiday. Imports jumped 19.8%, topping consensus 6.3% and 5.7% in December, leaving a trade surplus of $213.6B, record high for the period. China's exports to ASEAN and EU, its top two trading partners, surged 29.4% and 27.8% respectively in first two months. Meanwhile shipments to US dropped 11%. Reuters noted more governments now weighing trade restrictions on China, expressing concerns that Beijing's industrial overcapacity and its deflationary pressure are pushing excess goods into global markets. Economists also skeptical that China will move away from reliance on exports soon despite policymakers' commitment to raise household consumption in 15th five-year plan.

  • Chinese AI stocks rise on OpenClaw boost:

    • Tencent (700.HK) was latest Chinese tech name that stocks jumped on OpenClaw optimism, up ~7% Tuesday as top gainer in Hang Seng Index. Company launched WorkBuddy, an AI agent for workplace tasks that's fully compatible with OpenClaw (Bloomberg). Citi analysts said involvement of Tencent seen as "potential inflection point" for AI agents in China, which could represent pivot from current "Chat AI" to "Execution AI". Zhipu (2513.HK) surged ~14% after launching AutoClaw, a local version of OpenClaw and MiniMax (100.HK) soared ~16% while it launched its MaxClaw, agent build on OpenClaw, in late February, which the stock surged nearly 600% since its listing on 9-Jan. Came as OpenClaw generated much hype in China and was seen as good opportunity for local AI model developers to gain users to existing ecosystems. Beyond companies, local governments in China have also rushed to support adoption of OpenClaw with Shenzhen and Wuxi announcing draft measures to build OpenClaw-centered AI ecosystem (Reuters, SCMP). Meanwhile as OpenClaw adoption providing fresh tailwind for local AI landscape, regulators and local media have also flagged security concerns over the AI agent.

  • Fitch expects China stimulus to ebb in 2026, sees exports as the only potential source of upside surprise:

    • Fitch takeaways from the China NPC foresees modest retreat in policy support for the economy in 2026. In line with their expectations, fiscal stance set to be neutral to slightly contractionary, implying domestic demand will stay subdued and deflationary pressure may persist. Budget targets equate to a fiscal deficit ratio of 8.3% under Fitch methodology, down from 8.8% in 2025. However typical under-execution points to effective levels in the order of 7.3% in 2026 vs 7.6% in 2025. Stable bond issuance quotas imply limited scope for additional fiscal stimulus as a lower official GDP growth target indicates policymakers appear willing to tolerate slower growth. Highlighted weak revenue growth remains the key constraint. Noted deficit ratio has risen from 6.4% as revenue fell as a proportion of GDP While expenditures remained flat. Local government finances remain the main pressure point, with property-related income still weak. Fitch forecasts GDP growth of 4.1% in 2026, noting skepticism toward the government work report's top priority on boosting domestic demand, and does not believe policy actions will significantly lift consumption or investment. External demand should provide some upside risk, especially following the US tariff cuts in February. Developments broadly consistent with their Apr-25 sovereign review, which downgraded China's rating to 'A'/Stable from 'A+'/Negative.

  • India government invokes Essential Commodities Act amid LPG shortages:

    • India's government moved to secure domestic cooking gas supplies by invoking Essential Commodities Act, which ordered refineries to boost LPG production suitable for household use (EconomicTimes). Move essentially rations LPG supply following disruption sparked by closure of Strait of Hormuz. Order mandates hierarchical order of gas supplies to secure distribution for critical sectors: domestic piped gas and transport will be prioritized and receive 100% of usual supply; fertilizer plants to receive 70%, manufacturing and other industrial users to receive 80%. Petchem plants at ONGC (500312.IN), GAIL (532155.IN) among those most affected by partial or full containment of supply having been ordered to maximize production of LPG. Qatar and UAE supply around 55-60% of India's LPG imports, which contribute around 50% of gas consumption but country does not maintain strategic reserves, unlike for crude, leading to limited supply inventory.

  • G7 preparing to release emergency oil reserves:

    • G7 finance ministers held an emergency meeting Monday and "stand ready" to release oil reserves which could be one of the largest deployments in history (FT). Sources indicated some US officials believed that a joint release in range of 300-400M barrels would be appropriate, which would be at least on par with the 300M released by the US and IEA in 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Follow-through could come in coordination with IEA as soon as Tuesday. However, Reuters cited a G7 official as saying members had yet to agree on timing, indicating a move wasn't imminent. FT noted major oil producers including Saudi Arabia, Iraq, UAE and Kuwait have cut output by varying degrees in recent days. US officials had previously said there was no need to draw on strategic reserves as recently as Sunday, though now said to be fully supportive of coordinated action. IEA members hold about 1.2B barrels in strategic reserves, which have only been deployed five times since the agency was founded in the 1970s. Companies hold another 600M barrels covered by government obligations. Japan hastened preparations preceding the G7 meeting (Nikkei). While likely part of international coordination, Tokyo could move unilaterally for the first time ever. Finance Minister Katayama said G7 energy ministers will hold talks in the near future on details of possible action (Kyodo).

  • Notable Gainers:

    • +14.5% 6920.JP (Lasertec): Goldman Sachs upgrades to buy from neutral

    • +6% 7974.JP (Nintendo): sets price of secondary offering of shares at ¥8,347/share; DeNA discloses sale of 4.3M shares in Nintendo for ¥34.80B through secondary offering

    • +5.7% 2308.TT (Delta Electronics): reports February revenue NT$49.90B, +31.0% y/y

    • +5.3% 300750.CH (Contemporary Amperex Technology): reports FY net income attributable CNY72.20B vs FactSet CNY69.44B

    • +3.7% 051910.KS (LG Chem): holder Palliser Capital publishes comprehensive presentation to "Recharge LG Chem" in advance of AGM

    • +1.4% 087010.KS (Peptron): reports FY operating profit (KRW21.26B) vs year-ago (KRW16.53B)

    • +1.0% 068270.KS (Celltrion): FDA takes additional steps to streamline development of biosimilar medicines and make them more affordable

  • Notable Decliners:

    • -9.8% 694.HK (Beijing Capital International Airport): JPMorgan downgrades to underweight from neutral

    • -0.5% 001979.CH (China Merchants Shekou Industrial Zone Holdings): reports February contracted sales CNY7.77B; StreetAccount notes the year-ago figure was CNY10.44B

• Data:

  • Economic:

    • China Jan-Feb

      • Trade balance $213.6B vs consensus $179.6B and $114.1B in December

        • Exports +21.8% y/y vs consensus +7.1% and +6.6% in December

        • Imports +19.8 y/y vs consensus +6.3% and +5.7% in December

    • Japan

      • Q4 revised GDP +1.3% q/q annualized vs preliminary +0.2% and (2.6%) in prior quarter

        • GDP +0.3% q/q vs preliminary +0.1% and (0.7%) in prior quarter

      • January household spending (1.0%) y/y vs consensus +2.4% and (2.6%) in prior month

        • Spending (2.5%) m/m vs revised (2.2%) in prior month

    • Australia March

      • Westpac-MI consumer sentiment index 91.6 vs 90.5 in February

    • South Korea

      • Revised Q4 GDP (0.2%) q/q vs preliminary (0.3%) and +1.3% in prior quarter

        • GDP +1.6% y/y vs preliminary +1.5% and +1.8% in prior quarter

  • Markets:

    • Nikkei: 1,519.67 or +2.88% to 54248.39

    • Hang Seng: 551.44 or +2.17% to 25959.90

    • Shanghai Composite: 26.54 or +0.65% to 4123.14

    • Shenzhen Composite: 49.28 or +1.84% to 2729.82

    • ASX200: 93.60 or +1.09% to 8692.60

    • KOSPI: 280.72 or +5.35% to 5532.59

    • SENSEX: 441.70 or +0.57% to 78007.85

  • Currencies:

    • $-¥: (0.22) or (0.14%) to 157.4520

    • $-KRW: +3.24 or +0.22% to 1464.9700

    • A$-$: +0.00 or +0.39% to 0.7102

    • $-INR: +0.30 or +0.33% to 91.8262

    • $-CNY: (0.04) or (0.51%) to 6.8722