Oct 21 ,2026
Synopsis:
Asia equities ended mixed Wednesday. Biggest gains for South Korea and Taiwan while Japan's Nikkei also ended higher although all three were well off their peaks. Small gains for Australia's ASX and Singapore. India paring early gains to trade lower. Greater China indexes losing ground. US futures higher, European benchmarks higher in the first hour. Dollar edging higher, AUD stronger on hawkish RBA comments but little movement of note elsewhere. Treasury yields higher across tenors, JGBs mixed. Crude oil pared overnight losses with Brent back above $110/bl. Precious metals retreating further. Industrial metals flat.
Asia stocks rallied Wednesday as most technology-weighted benchmarks rose in the wake of SpaceX results after the close Tuesday as well as reports it was mulling a merger with Tesla. Adding support was a report Anthropic could spend up to $750B on computing power over the next few years. Among Asia tech stock movements, Samsung Electronics (005930.KS), SK Hynix (000660.KS) and Kioxia (285A.JP) led while Hynix's parent company SK Inc (000660.KS) outperformed on news an activist investor group had acquired a stake. Capping gains was a move higher in crude prices from its overnight dip after several Gulf diplomats dismissed yesterday's reports of progress in peace talks and a decline in API inventories.
In other developments, the RBA's deputy governor Hauser said inflation was 'materially worse' than August's forecasts, lowering odds of a rate hike next month and triggering an uptick in Australia bond yields and the Australia dollar. Japan September exports grew 16.7% y/y but missed estimates and, while imports grew, they were also below expectations. South Korea exports for the first 20 days were again robust but growth slowed somewhat against August's surge. Bank Indonesia held its base interest rate unchanged but cut its banks' RRR to attract foreign capital.
Tokyo Ohko Kogyo (4186.JP) and Amechatec (6227.JP) are to form a 51-49% joint venture to supply the semiconductor sector. CATL (3750.CH) posted Q3 earnings that missed market estimates on higher costs and compressed margins across its main business units. Activist investor Align Partners said it had acquired a 1.5% stake in SK Inc (034730.KS) adding it saw the company as an attractive investment opportunity. NextDC (NXT.AU) cut its earnings forecast after reporting delays to power supply in one of its Melbourne data centers; shares down sharply. Jio Platforms (0M8TM9-E) began its public bidding process in India's record $3.2B IPO after confirming cornerstone investors.
Digest:
Notable Gainers:
+12.6% 034730.KS (SK): activist Align Partners reveals 1.5% stake, names SK as attractive investment opportunity
+9.1% 6809.HK (Montage Technology): guides Q3 net income attributable CNY1.20-1.30B vs FactSet CNY875.5M
+4.8% 4186.JP (TOKYO OHKA KOGYO): to establish JV with AIMechatec
+1.8% 0126Z0.KS (Samsung Epis Holdings): FDA grants Fast Track designation for SBE303 for locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer
+0.6% 4684.JP (OBIC Co.): reportedly expects to report H1 operating profit of more than ¥50.0B, +10% y/y
Notable Decliners:
-41.7% NXT.AU (NextDC): notes M3 Melbourne power delay; guides FY27 underlying EBITDA A$245-265M vs prior A$385-410M and FactSet A$401.5M
-11.9% 3750.HK (Contemporary Amperex Technology): reports Q3 results; net income attributable CNY21.25B vs FactSet CNY23.52B
-9.0% 079550.KS (LIG Defense & Aerospace): South Korea's DAPA bans LIG Defense & Aerospace from government bids for two years
-6.4% 3606.HK (Fuyao Glass Industry Group): reports Q3 net income attributable CNY2.04B, (9.9%) y/y
-5.3% 3738.HK (Vobile Group): to issue aggregate principal amount of HK$530M in convertible bonds
-3.8% 941.HK (China Mobile): reports 9M CAS results; net income attributable CNY106.20B, (8%) vs year-ago CNY115.35B
Data:
Economic:
Japan
September trade balance (¥536.6B) vs consensus (¥210.4B) and revised (¥1,111.9B) in prior month
Exports +16.7% y/y vs consensus +21.3% and +19.3% in prior month
Imports +18.9% y/y vs consensus +20.4% and +28.0% in prior month
Markets:
Nikkei: 545.82 or +0.85% to 64621.24
Hang Seng: (215.87) or (0.90%) to 23651.87
Shanghai Composite: (22.34) or (0.60%) to 3713.03
Shenzhen Composite: (11.04) or (0.49%) to 2225.34
ASX200: 14.40 or +0.16% to 8831.30
KOSPI: 182.92 or +3.29% to 5735.66
SENSEX: (367.79) or (0.50%) to 73485.11
Currencies:
$-¥: (0.03) or (0.02%) to 158.1440
$-KRW: (2.66) or (0.20%) to 1323.6200
A$-$: +0.00 or +0.29% to 0.7022
$-INR: (0.08) or (0.09%) to 94.6559
$-CNY: (0.00) or (0.02%) to 6.6769
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