Asia stocks on track for weekly gain; eyes on US inflation test
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan held broadly steady and was on track for a weekly gain of 2%.
Trading was thinned with Australia out on a holiday.
Chinese stocks looked set to end the week on a strong footing as a wave of policy support from Beijing restored fragile investor confidence and put a floor under its sliding stock market.
The blue-chip index rose 0.03% and was eyeing a 2% weekly gain, while the Shanghai Composite edged 0.3% higher, putting it on track for a 3% weekly rise, its largest since July 2023.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index eased 0.41%, but was still more than 5% higher for the week, also its best performance since last July.
In an attempt to shore up its fragile economic recovery, China's central bank announced a deep cut to bank reserves on Wednesday, in a move that will inject about $140 billion of cash into the banking system.
Those came a day after Bloomberg News reported Chinese authorities are seeking to mobilise about 2 trillion yuan ($278.98 billion), mainly from the offshore accounts of Chinese state-owned enterprises, as part of a stabilisation fund to buy shares.
«We remain cautious on China, in line with our view for several years,» said John Pinkel, a partner and portfolio manager at Indus Capital.
«We see evidence of selling induced by structured 'snowball' products, especially from onshore China sources.
This is blending with selling driven by fund closures as well as ongoing uncertainty about Beijing's commitment to markets… It looks like some investors are giving up on the market.»
Elsewhere, Japan's Nikkei slid 1%, retreating from a 34-year high hit at the start of the week, as bets ramped up that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) could soon exit its massive
