A powerful and resilient wave of optimism is sweeping across most of Asia on Wednesday, with markets shrugging off a fresh dose of worrying economic data from China and instead taking their cue from another record-setting performance on Wall Street.
This bullish sentiment is being further fueled by a rally in the region’s technology giants, who are riding the coattails of Apple’s latest product launch.
Overnight, all three major US benchmarks closed at all-time highs as investors confidently bet on an imminent Federal Reserve rate cut.
That positive energy has crossed the Pacific, igniting strong gains across the region. South Korea’s Kospi is the day’s standout performer, surging 1.42 percent to its highest level since the end of 2021.
Singapore’s Straits Times Index has also jumped 1 percent to a new record high, a clear sign of broad-based conviction.
A deflationary chill, a tech titan’s rally
This powerful rally is taking place despite a fresh reminder of the economic headwinds blowing from China.
The mainland’s consumer prices fell 0.4 percent year-over-year in August, a deeper drop than economists had expected, signaling that deflationary pressures continue to haunt the world’s second-largest economy.
But for now, the market is choosing to focus on a different story. Shares of Asian tech companies in Apple’s vast supply chain are trading higher after the Cupertino-based giant unveiled its new lineup of iPhones, Apple Watches, and AirPods on Tuesday.
The Taiwanese iPhone maker Foxconn jumped 1.67 percent and the South Korean titan Samsung Electronics increased 1.82 percent. The enthusiasm was not shared by Apple investors themselves, who sent the company’s shares lower, but for its Asian partners, the launch has provided a welcome and powerful catalyst.
This tech-led optimism is being amplified by the continued, stunning rally in shares of Alibaba Group.
The Chinese e-commerce giant’s Hong Kong-listed stock is up another 2.89 percent, hitting a near-four-year high as it continues to ride a wave of positive sentiment from its recent investment in a humanoid robotics startup.
A tentative rebound, a bullish start
A sense of stability also appears to be returning to Indonesia, where the Jakarta Composite Index is up 0.58 percent, recovering from a three-day losing streak that was triggered by the president’s unexpected dismissal of his highly-regarded finance minister.
This broadly positive mood is set to extend to Dalal Street. The Indian benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty are poised for a higher open, tracking the upbeat global cues.
The trends on the Gift Nifty indicate a solid start, with the index trading around the 25,000 level.
This comes after a strong session on Tuesday, where the market ended higher, with the Sensex gaining 0.39 percent to close at 81,101.32 and the Nifty 50 settling just shy of the 24,900 mark, setting the stage for another day of gains.
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