©Reuters.
Investing.com — Most Asian stocks fell on Tuesday as markets priced in an early U.S. interest rate cut and awaited signals from several regional central banks, but sovereign wealth funds signaled intention to make more purchases. The Chinese market rose in response to the news.
Asian markets were buoyed by weak guidance from Wall Street as strong economic data and hawkish comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell strengthened confidence that central banks will keep interest rates high for an extended period. received.
Chinese market soars as sovereign wealth fund announces additional purchase of ETFs
But Chinese stocks were the major outliers on Tuesday, with the index and the index up 2% and 0.9%, respectively. Both companies have further recovered from their five-year and four-year lows hit last week.
The Hong Kong index rose 1.9% as mainland stocks rose.
Buying into Chinese stocks was fueled mainly by reports that central Huijin Investment, a government-backed fund, announced that it would continue buying more exchange-traded funds to support the domestic stock market.
Central Huizin's reported announcement was accompanied by a statement from China's securities regulator that it would continue to guide domestic funds into the market, signaling more government support for the battered and undervalued stock market.
But it remains to be seen whether Tuesday's move will spur a sustained recovery in China's markets, given that government-backed funds have consistently sought to stem the slide in domestic stocks.
The underlying cause of China's stock market crash – concerns about slowing economic growth – continues to have an impact. His January, due to be released later this week, is expected to show little improvement, especially after a series of disappointing results in the Purchasing Managers' Index for the month.
Australia and India interest rate decisions keep Asian markets on edge
The focus now was on interest rate decisions in Australia and India, scheduled for later today and Thursday respectively.
Australia fell 0.6% after the Reserve Bank of Australia's announcement warned that persistent inflation could spur further interest rate hikes in the coming months.
The central bank acknowledged the recent decline in inflation but said price pressures remained too high and warned that future interest rate decisions would be largely determined by the path of inflation. The bank also disappointed some traders who had been hoping for some signal about a possible rate cut later this year.
Australian statistics for the fourth quarter showed continued pressure on consumer spending from high interest rates and inflation.
Indian index futures signaled a slightly weaker trend as domestic stocks struggled to take large profits from record highs. Little change in policy is expected at Thursday's meeting, while the inflation outlook will be closely watched.
Asian markets generally fell on the back of persistent concerns about rising long-term interest rates.
Japan's index fell 0.7% after rising to a 34-year high in January, with some profit-taking.
South Korea fell 0.5% on a decline in tech stocks, but most Southeast Asian markets remained flat to low.
