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AFP

Business

Hong Kong returns to lead most Asian markets higher

Hong Kong Asia Inflation China Economy Lunar New Year US Federal Reserve

Hong Kong stocks have rallied more than 10 percent since the turn of the year. ©AFP

Hong Kong (AFP) - Most Asian markets rose Thursday as the majority returned from the Lunar New Year break on an optimistic note, with inflation slowing and central banks hinting at a lighter approach to tackling prices.

Hong Kong led the way again, helped by hopes that China's reopening will fuel a strong recovery this year, while Bloomberg News said travel and box office numbers for the holidays were encouraging.

But uneven earnings from tech giants largely kept sentiment in check and saw Wall Street end on a soft note, with the Nasdaq in the red.

Traders are now awaiting the release of US growth data on Thursday and the Federal Reserve's preferred gauge of inflation Friday.

Still, Asia continued to outperform after a strong start to the year.

Next week, the Federal Reserve will make its latest policy decision since slowing its pace of rate hikes in December after four straight 75 basis-point increases.

Speculation has been building in recent weeks that the bank could take its foot off the pedal as data points to inflation coming down quicker than expected and other indicators suggest last year's tightening was taking hold in the economy.

And while there remains some concern that the world's top economy could tip into recession, there is growing hope it can achieve a so-called soft landing.

Hong Kong jumped two percent Thursday -- having already piled on more than 10 percent in 2023 -- while Singapore, Wellington and Jakarta were also up.

Seoul gained more than one percent as data showed South Korea's economy shrank in October-December -- for the first time since the second quarter of 2020 -- giving the central bank room to tone down its pace of rate hikes.

But Tokyo, Manila and Bangkok fell.

Shanghai, Sydney and Taipei were closed for the holiday.

SPI Asset Management's Stephen Innes was upbeat about the outlook for equities.

"Once we chop through the cudgel of earnings reports, one can reasonably expect the buyback tailwind to resume in force come February," he said in a commentary.

"The opportunity set in non-US markets continues to look more attractive.And while China remains the faster horse in the race, still after a run of resilient activity data, lower gas prices, easier financial conditions and earlier China reopening, investors should take note of the solid non-recessionary vibes emanating from Europe."

And Ricky Tang at Value Partners Group added: "On the economic front, the Chinese government has emphasised that the top priority for 2023 is to boost economic growth, so it is possible for the government to introduce more policies to support the economy in the coming months."

He added that when Covid cases begin to subside "economic activities should gradually return to normal, paving the way to a stronger economic recovery".

Oil prices were mixed and have consolidated around their November highs on China demand expectations, with officials saying the number of daily Covid deaths had fallen nearly 80 percent since the start of the month.

The figures will come as some relief to investors who feared that a wave of infections across the country would offset the benefits of dispatching the zero-Covid strategy that hammered the economy for three years.