Back to Daily DR Market Summary

StreetAccount Summary - Asian Market Recap: Nikkei (1.04%), Hang Seng (0.70%), Shanghai Composite (0.10%) as of 04:10 ET

Mar 12 ,2026

• Synopsis:

  • Asia equities ended lower Thursday with Brent crude prices rising to just below $100/bl despite the IEA's strategic reserve release plan. Japan saw the worst of the declines while Australia, Taiwan and South Korea also fell sharply. Greater China boards ended down although most were off their troughs of the day. India with more losses, Southeast Asia benchmarks mostly lower although Thailand's SET was a bright spot. US futures lower, European boards opened with modest losses. US dollar higher with the DXY back near 99.5; Asia currencies weaker across the board. Treasury yields higher across tenors, JGB yields also up. WTI and Brent futures up around 8% each, WTI at $94/bl, Brent just below $100/bl. Precious metals slightly lower, base metals mixed as iron ore rallies but copper dips.

  • Asia equities under pressure by a return of Brent crude prices to near $100/bl despite the IEA's plan to release a record amount of reserves. Instead, traders focused on Iran attacks on six ships near or around the Strait of Hormuz including two tankers inside Iraqi waters and a Thai merchant ship. Investor attention starting to focus too on oil & gas products such as gasoline and diesel, which have both seen sharp increases in prices this week, as well as LNG offtake helium used in semiconductor production. In other related developments, Oman evacuated its oil port of ships to disincentivize an attack; China said it would tighten fuel exports and would look to expand its oil reserves; Japan and South Korea among the Asia nations preparing to release strategic reserves to cap prices. Meanwhile, US intelligence says Iran's government not at risk of collapse, signaling one of the US's war aims was some way from being accomplished.

  • Elsewhere Thursday, the USTR confirmed it had launched trade investigations into excess manufacturing capacity and production in 16 countries including many in Asia. Japan MOF business confidence eased with manufacturers and nonmanufacturers seeing moderately softer sentiment. Australia inflation expectations rose to its highest since mid-2023. Consensus now sees the BOJ pausing on rate hikes again next week with the next 25 bps increase slated for April; markets pricing in strong possibility of a RBA rate hike next week while Bank Indonesia is expected to keep base rates unchanged.

  • SoftBank's (9984.JP) PayPay (+PAYP) IPO was priced at $16/ADR, below the $17-20 marketed range. Midea (300.HK) has pledged $8.7B for AI and robotics investment as it pivots towards automation. Oasis Management has disclosed a sizeable stake in Nidec (6594.JP) and called for governance reform in the company. Hong Kong authorities have raided the offices of Citic Securities (6030.HK) and Guotai Junan International (1788.HK), taking several staff members away for questioning.

• Digest:

  • Iranian attacks against ships in Gulf waters heighten market angst:

    • Oil rebound weighing on risk sentiment. Market concern still largely on Strait of Hormuz disruptions after Iran issued more threats to block flows and said to be deploying mines. Commercial vessels have also been struck in vicinity, including fuel tankers in Iraqi waters (Reuters). Meanwhile, Bloomberg sources said Oman evacuated all ships Mina Al Fahal export terminal as precautionary action. Developments overshadowing IEA confirmation of plans for coordinated release of 400M barrels of strategic oil reserves, whichstill left open questions about individual member contributions, timeline and skepticism whether reserves sufficient to cushion impact of throttled Strait of Hormuz flows. Late Wednesday US announced it would release 172M of barrels from SPR, which will take approximately 120 days to deliver. Mixed messaging from White House on war's timeline and aims not helping after President Trump said conflict could send soon (Axios) while at a later rally vowed to continue until job is finished (Bloomberg). Israeli military officials also said they expect at least two more weeks of operations. Meanwhile, Iran said any ceasefire contingent on guarantee of no future strikes, payment of reparations and recognition of Tehran's legitimate rights, conditions considered unacceptable to US or Israel (Bloomberg)

  • Asia supply chains already impacted by Iran war, stands to exacerbate chip market tightness:

    • Nikkei discussed broader supply chain disruptions caused by the blockage of shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. Cited comments from Formosa Petrochemical (6505.TT) president Keh-Yen Lin highlighting this incident as unprecedented, preventing passage of not only crude oil but also naphtha, a key input for a wide range of plastics, synthetic fibers and electronic materials. Furthermore, there are no viable alternative routes. Several Asian petrochemical makers have already said they will scale back production and halt new orders. Cautioned supplies could dwindle from the second half of this month if the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked. Formosa Petrochemical and Formosa Plastics (1301.TT) have already issued force majeure notices to customers this week for some of their products. Follows similar moves by leading petrochemical suppliers across Asia, such as Wanhua Chemical (600309.CH) and Siam Cement Group (SCC.BK), which alerted clients about decisions to scale back production. Separately, Nikkei discussed regional concerns about supplies of other materials such as helium and LNG. South Korea industry ministry launched an investigation into 14 semiconductor materials and manufacturing equipment types for which the country is highly dependent on the Middle East. Helium is a particular concern, essential for cooling wafers. Worries also are growing about stable supplies of bromine, used in semiconductor circuit formation, production of which is concentrated in Israel and Jordan. Taiwan starting to worry about LNG, which accounts for 50% of its energy mix.

  • Japan to release 21% of crude oil reserves, IEA plan may be insufficient:

    • Nikkei reported Prime Minister Takaichi ordered the unilateral release of some 21% of national crude oil reserves from as early as Monday. Equates to about 45 days' worth out of a total stockpile of 254 days. Decision pre-empted IEA agreement for a record 400M barrels among member countries. Government has previously signaled it could act unilaterally for the first time while also supporting any IEA resolutions. Government will also subsidize gasoline, diesel heavy oil and kerosene for any amount for retail prices in excess of JPY170 per liter (currently ~JPY162) with JPY280B ($1.8B) in fuel subsidy provisions available. Gasoline subsidy provisions were established in 2022 as part of the suited of policy responses to the Covid pandemic and Ukraine war, though was discontinued at 2025-end when the gasoline surcharge was scrapped. As diesel continues to be subsidized, a total JPY8.2T has been already spent on fuel cost relief. Nikkei noted skepticism toward the IEA plan. Announcement effects were limited overnight despite the speed of the resolution and the amount. While more than double the prior round released during the war in Ukraine, there were doubts that reserves could be deployed fast enough to meaningfully replace the 20M barrels per day blocked from passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

  • Japan MOF business confidence gauge softens, early FY26 projections start conservative:

    • MOF BSI for large firms was 4.4 in Q1, down from 4.9 in the previous quarter. Both manufacturers and nonmanufacturers were moderately softer. Indexes for medium and small firms logged sharper declines and the latter falling deeper into negative territory. More widely watched BOJ Tankan series also typically sees parallel movements between large and small firms, though all are now positive indicating broadly based net optimism. Employment index rose further, extending record highs going back to 2004, indicating more severe labor shortages. Equivalent BOJ index showing the tightest conditions since the height of the bubble era in 1990. All-industry FY25 ordinary profit projections swung to 2.4% growth from a 0.7% decline on largely steady sales growth of 2.3%. Capex forecasts revised down to +3.9% from +6.6%, though consistent with BOJ Tankan tendency towards downward revisions late in the fiscal year as budgets consolidate. MOF survey provided an early look at FY26 projections, pointing to a 1.0% decline in ordinary profits (manufacturers the main drag) on sales growth of 2.2% and capex expanding 3.5%. Recall analysts accurately predicted earnings upgrades over the course of FY25 and sentiment remained upbeat on the outlook before latest Middle East conflict began. Deviations from capex plans were attributed to changes in costs and the economic outlook. Notably, retained earnings allocations prioritized capex, shareholder payouts and employee compensation among large firms, while small businesses skewed towards payrolls.

  • US launches trade investigations into excess manufacturing capacity and production:

    • USTR confirmed S.301 Trade Act investigations have been launched into structural excess capacity and production in manufacturing sectors. China, EU, South Korea, Japan and India among countries named (Reuters). Probe may pave way for new duties as White House looks to restore effective tariff rate after SCOTUS struck down tariffs imposed under IEEPA. President Trump signed executive order on 20-Feb announcing 10% global tariff under S.122 of Trade Act with 150-day time limit expiring in late July. White House had already foreshadowed S.301 probes earlier this month with USTR Greer promising investigations will be completed by time 10% tariff expires (Bloomberg). White House also planning investigations under S.232 of Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which may pave way for tariffs on national security grounds. Outcome of investigations carries risk of retaliation after China said it was closely monitoring administration's plans to launch trade investigations and would firmly safeguard its rights (Bloomberg). China was among the biggest beneficiaries of SCOTUS decision with Morgan Stanley estimating new effective tariff rate of 24% compared to 32% previously (Bloomberg).

  • Notable Gainers:

    • +10.0% 4938.TT (Pegatron): reports Q4 EPS NT$1.97 vs FactSet NT$1.37; guides FY capex $300-350M

    • +8.1% 1860.HK (Mobvista): reports FY adjusted net income $95.5M vs guidance $89-99M; chairman Duan Wei resigns

    • +7.4% 5844.JP (Kyoto Financial Group): upscales buyback program to up to ¥15.0B from up to ¥2.0B, period extended to 30-Sep from 31-Mar

    • +3.9% 6594.JP (Nidec): Oasis Management discloses 6.7% stake in Nidec; calls for governance reform

    • +0.8% 3017.TT (Asia Vital Components): reports FY EPS NT$49.17 vs FactSet NT$49.40, revenue NT$139.64B vs FactSet NT$139.45B; acquires 100% interest in Shenzhen Baoxing Wire & Cable Manufacturing for up to CNY820M (NT$3.75B)

  • Notable Decliners:

    • -11.6% 6966.JP (Mitsui High-tec): reports FY results; revises medium-term targets; cuts FY28 operating profit target to ¥15.00B from ¥23.50B

    • -8.7% 551.HK (Yue Yuen Industrial (Holdings)): reports FY revenue $8.03B vs FactSet $8.07B

    • -7.4% 6274.TT (Taiwan Union Technology): reports FY EPS NT$12.13 vs FactSet NT$12.27

    • -4.2% 1788.HK (Guotai Junan International Holdings): confirms employee (not board member) was detained by ICAC following report Hong Kong authorities raided equity capital market divisions of CITIC Securities's Hong Kong unit and Guotai Junan International

    • -3.6% 9984.JP (SoftBank Group): PayPay 55.0M-ADS IPO priced at $16/ADS, below reported marketed range

• Data:

  • Economic:

    • Japan Q1

      • MOF BSI large manufacturing index 3.8 vs 4.7 in prior quarter

        • Large non-manufacturing index 4.6 vs 5.1 in prior quarter

        • Large all-industry index 4.4 vs 4.9 in prior quarter

  • Markets:

    • Nikkei: (572.41) or (1.04%) to 54452.96

    • Hang Seng: (182.00) or (0.70%) to 25716.76

    • Shanghai Composite: (4.33) or (0.10%) to 4129.10

    • Shenzhen Composite: (18.67) or (0.68%) to 2725.35

    • ASX200: (114.50) or (1.31%) to 8629.00

    • KOSPI: (26.70) or (0.48%) to 5583.25

    • SENSEX: (477.79) or (0.62%) to 76385.92

  • Currencies:

    • $-¥: (0.24) or (0.15%) to 158.7140

    • $-KRW: (3.48) or (0.24%) to 1475.0200

    • A$-$: (0.00) or (0.11%) to 0.7144

    • $-INR: (0.11) or (0.12%) to 92.1041

    • $-CNY: +0.01 or +0.09% to 6.8728