Hong Kong shares traded nearly 4% higher as China’s Covid briefing takes place

China’s State Council is expected to send a positive message at the upcoming Covid press conference, but the announcement will not include a “milestone,” said Pinpoint Asset Management president Zhiwei Zhang.

“I think the message will actually be positive… there are a lot of positive signals coming from the central and local governments,” Zhang said, citing examples such as the government allowing the opening of housing complexes in Beijing.

But he warned that reopening would be a “long process” until March next year, and said that “the medical system may not be able to support transmission” especially in the approaching winter.

– Lee Ying Chan

Both the Chinese internal and external yuan strengthened against the dollar in the Asia session ahead of a press conference on Covid measures.

The dollar lost 1.09% against Maritime yuan and 0.65% against wild yuan, With both trading around 7.16 levels. The offshore yuan traded near 7.24 per dollar before rising sharply.

Other Asia-Pacific currencies also rose against the dollar. The Australian dollars It was as high as $0.6701 after jumping from around $0.66, and The Koreans won It was at 1326.79 per dollar compared to around 1340 earlier on Tuesday.

– Abigail Ng

Indexes in China jumped more than 2% as investors closely watched developments in the country’s coronavirus policy after seeing losses in the previous session.

China’s CSI 300 rose 2.97% in the morning session, while China’s CSI 300 rose Shanghai boat jumped 2.2%. The Shenzhen component The index rose 2.172%.

Local media reported that China’s State Council will hold a press conference on COVID-19 measures at 3 p.m. local time, or 2 a.m. ET.

And the nation witnessed a Reduction in the number of daily infections For the first time in over a week.

– Evelyn Cheng, Jihee Lee

Chinese president Xi Jinping Andy Rothman, an investment strategist at Matthews Asia, said he has been realistic and pragmatic on Covid, domestic real estate issues and politics since the end of the Communist Party at the Chinese National Congress.

“He’s been pragmatic about Covid policy, announcing a change of direction toward living with Covid rather than CovidZero,” he said on CNBC. “Squawk Box Asia” When asked how the government will respond to the recent unrest in parts of China.

“He’s been pragmatic on the property, and he’s been very pragmatic on dealing with Joe Biden, so I expect that to continue,” Rothman said.

He added that he sees the upheaval over prolonged coronavirus non-spreading policies as very much in line with what is expected to come from the Chinese government.

“What the protesters appear to be asking for,” he said, “are things Xi Jinping has already said he wants to deliver.” “He wants to offer a way out of zero tolerance for Covid, towards living with Covid like the rest of the world.”

Rothman added that the most recent announcements of easing quarantine measures for international travelers suggest that handing over shifts from the zero Covid policy will be “relatively easier.”

“He doesn’t back down. [or] He gives in under pressure, he delivers, at a faster pace, what he has already said These students He wants to give them.”

– Abigail Ng

Oil prices rose ahead of China’s State Council press conference, as investors continue to monitor developments – paring back some of the losses they saw on Monday, when they hit their lowest levels in nearly a year.

The West Texas Intermediate futures It increased by 1.76%, to stand at $78.59 a barrel, while it rose Brent Crude Futures It rose 2.28%, to stand at $85.00 a barrel.

However, oil markets may be “miscalculating news of China’s shutdown,” Rystad Energy wrote in a note.

“[The latest lockdowns’] The potential impact on short-term Chinese oil demand, particularly in transportation, is likely to be minor,” the note states, citing the company’s research on real traffic activities in China.

Even as daily Covid cases continue to rise, cities like Shanghai have not shown a slowdown in road traffic activity, according to Rystad Energy’s own research.

– Lee Ying Chan

National University of Singapore Professor Wang Junguo said on CNBC that the Chinese government is unlikely to make sudden changes to its policy on the non-spread of the coronavirus, because that would create chaos. “Squawk Box Asia”.

“If you suddenly change the policy, I think the damage and consequences will be worse – it will be really messy because I think the spread of Covid will be absolutely unprecedented,” Wang said.

He added that he expected Chinese leader Xi Jinping to make adjustments at more domestic levels to mitigate public opposition.

Wang said Xi does not want to formally admit that “the policy has been wrong for a long time,” but he cannot change it immediately.

– Jihe Lee

Stocks related to developers of Hong Kong-listed real estate jumped after China’s regulator announced it would lift a ban on raising equity funds for the sector.

China Securities Regulatory Commission announce Five measures to support the real estate market, including the removal of multi-year restrictions on real estate developers selling shares to raise financing.

Seifi Holding Group jumped 13.01% in the first hour of trading, country park also increased by 13.36%, Logan group rose 10.23% and Longfor group 9.88% profit.

– Jihe Lee

Hong Kong Hang Seng Index It is on track to post its best month since April 1999, when the index rose 21.85%.

The index is up more than 3% through Tuesday morning, and is up about 22% for the month of November, according to Refinitiv data.

The HSI closed down 1.57% on Monday, the worst day in a week, when the Hang Seng lost 1.87% on November 21.

–Gina Francola and Jay Lee

Japan Unemployment rate October was flat from September’s reading of 2.6%, according to official data. The number is just above the median forecast of 2.5% of economists polled by Reuters.

The Job-to-applicant ratiowhich measures active job opportunities per job seeker, it was at 1.35. It indicates that there are 135 available jobs for every 100 applicants, which indicates that the job market is still tight in Japan.

Countries retail It rose 4.3 percent in October on an annual basis, missing expectations for a 5 percent increase forecast in a separate Reuters poll.

The latest reading marks the first weakness in retail sales growth since June this year.

– Jihe Lee

St. Louis Federal Reserve Chairman James Bullard said Monday that the Fed should continue to raise its benchmark interest rate in the coming months and that the market may underestimate the possibility that the Fed will become more aggressive.

“We will have to continue to pursue our interest rate increases through 2023, and there is some risk that we have to go higher than [5%],” Pollard said at Barron’s live webinar.

Bullard made waves in financial markets earlier this month when he said that the Fed’s hikes could “Only limited effectsOn inflation yet and that the benchmark interest rate may need to rise to between 5% and 7%.

Bullard, a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee, said the Fed will need to delay any interest rate cuts next year even if the inflation picture starts to show sustained improvement.

“I think we’ll probably have to stay there throughout 2023 and into 2024, given the historical behavior of core PCE inflation or the Dallas Fed cut average inflation. They’ll go down, I think. That’s my baseline. But they probably won,” Bullard said.

– Jesse Pound

Stephen Glass, managing director of Pella Funds Management, said it’s “important” for investors to look at valuations right now as a recession looms and inflation looks set to continue.

In this environment, Glass picked a list of nine stocks that he said “look especially cheap given the growth outlook.”

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

– Wizen tan

The bitcoin price fell on Monday after BlockFi officially announced that it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the wake of FTX’s bankruptcy.

Bitcoin briefly fell to around $16,000 but has already rebounded. The latest was just a 1% drop to over $16,300, as measured by Coin. The action in ether price showed a similar bounce.

BlockFi has been in bad shape since the spring, after the Terra project implosion led to the collapse of Three Arrows Capital. At that time, the company accepted a bailout from FTX that would help it avoid bankruptcy. Of course, FTX is now filing for bankruptcy.

– Tanaya McHale

Many global companies are highly exposed to China, including some of the world’s largest automakers, which generate between 20% and 40% of their global sales in the country, according to Goldman Sachs.

In a note to clients on November 22 — before the latest protests — the investment bank outlined the global auto industry’s exposure to Chinese consumers.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

– Ganesh Rao

After a winning Thanksgiving week, the three major indexes ended lower Monday as investors sold off amid growing concerns about supply chain disruptions amid Covid-related protests in China.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average It lost 1.45%, or 497.57 points, and closed at 33,849.46 points. The Standard & Poor’s 500 It also decreased by 1.54%, closing at 3,963.94. The NASDAQ Composite It decreased by 1.58% and closed at 11049.50.

– Alex Haring