Asian shares inch high, but battle to hold on to gains

Singapore — Asian stocks inched slightly higher on Tuesday but struggled to sustain an upbeat rally on Wall Street as concern about a faltering Chinese economy dampened the market mood.

Data on Tuesday showed China’s exports grew at their fastest since March 2023 in August, suggesting manufacturers are rushing out orders ahead of tariffs expected from a number of trade partners, while imports missed forecasts amid weak domestic demand.

That followed Monday’s inflation figures that pointed to still-fragile domestic demand as producer price deflation worsened, keeping alive calls for further stimulus from Beijing to shore up its economy.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was last up 0.14%, languishing near a one-month low hit in the previous session. Its gains were capped by a slump in Chinese stocks.

China’s CSI300 blue-chip index fell to a seven-month trough and last traded 0.52% lower, while the CSI Tourism index tumbled to a record low, underscoring anaemic consumer demand.

“The stimulus, it clearly has to be more. But unfortunately, it’s been done in very, very small parcels and targeted, and it just seems the economy is just not turning around very quickly,” said Jun Bei Liu, a portfolio manager at Tribeca Investment Partners.

Adding to headwinds for the Chinese economy were escalating trade tensions, after the US House of Representatives on Monday passed a bill that aims to restrict business with China’s WuXi AppTec, BGI and several other biotech companies on national security grounds.

Hong Kong-listed shares of WuXi AppTec and WuXi Biologics were last down more than 8% and nearly 4%, respectively.

The broader Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was last up 0.29%, though China’s beleaguered property sector remained a huge drag, with the Hang Seng Mainland Properties index tumbling to a record low on Tuesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei tacked on 0.35% and looked set to reverse five consecutive sessions of losses.

Fed cuts

In the broader market, investors remained focused on Wednesday’s US inflation report, which are likely to provide more clarity on whether the Federal Reserve could deliver an outsize 50 basis point (bp) cut when it meets next week.

Wall Street had staged an impressive rebound in the previous session, after all three major US stock indices surged more than 1%, recovering from last week’s sell-off.

US futures pared some of their gains on Tuesday, with S&P 500 futures falling 0.21%, while Nasdaq futures slipped 0.05%.

Eurostoxx 50 futures tacked on 0.02%, though FTSE futures lost 0.34%.

“Risk-off sentiment stabilised overnight and US equities rebounded on dips buying after Friday’s sell-off,” said economists at ING in a note.

“As the nonfarm payrolls numbers failed to convince for a 50bp cut, markets are now looking to the US inflation data to understand the pace of the Fed’s rate cuts.”

Expectations are for headline inflation to have further slowed to an annual 2.6% in August compared to July’s 2.9%.

“If the inflation number is any different, or significantly different from expectations, then the number of rate cuts [priced in] will be changed,” said Jun Bei Liu, a portfolio manager at Tribeca Investment Partners.

In currencies, the dollar held broadly steady, rising 0.09% against the yen to ¥143.26. The euro rose 0.03% to $1.1037, while sterling was flat at $1.30735.

Later on Tuesday, Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump will debate for the first time ahead of the Presidential election on November 5, with the two locked in a tight race for the top job.

Elsewhere, oil prices slipped, with Brent crude futures last down 0.03% to $71.82 a barrel, while US crude eased 0.12% to $68.63 a barrel. Spot gold fell 0.14% to $2,501.82/oz.

Reuters