Asian stocks rise, China in the lead on new stimulus plans
Investing.com-- Most Asian stocks rose on Wednesday, tracking a positive overnight session on Wall Street, while Chinese stocks extended a recovery rally after the government announced plans for a massive bond issuance.
A decline in Treasury yields benefited local technology stocks, as did positive overnight earnings from Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT). Japan’s Nikkei 225 index jumped over 1%, buoyed chiefly by strength in tech and industrial stocks, while the broader TOPIX added 1%.
But while broader Asian stocks advanced, they were still nursing steep losses for October, as risk sentiment remained frail after the onset of the Israel-Hamas war. Markets were also on edge over rising U.S. interest rates before a Federal Reserve meeting next week.
Hong Kong and Chinese markets were by far the best performers for the day, with the Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite indexes up 0.8% each, while the Hang Seng surged 2.5%.
All three indexes rebounded from their weakest levels for the year, after Beijing announced plans to issue 1 trillion yuan ($1= 7.3088 yuan) in government bonds to support the economy.
A bulk of the issuance will be directed towards infrastructure spending, particularly rebuilding disaster-hit areas and bolstering relief capabilities. Construction and utility stocks were the best performers on Chinese indexes, following news of the issuance.
Chinese stocks were also buoyed by a sovereign fund, Central Huijin, saying that it was buying local exchange-traded funds.
Still, Chinese stocks remained close to 2023 lows, having logged steep losses on concerns over an economic slowdown and a property market meltdown. Despite Wednesday’s optimism, the factors that had dented domestic markets still
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