Asia-Pacific markets mixed as investors weigh risks

Abigail Ng

Shares in the Asia-Pacific were mixed on Tuesday as investors weigh risks.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 0.75% and the Topix added 1.1%. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200

rose 0.51% ahead of central bank governor Philip Lowe’s speech at the Committee for Economic Development of Australia.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 0.45% in early trade. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite and the Shenzhen Component

were both fractionally lower.

The Kospi in South Korea slipped 0.22% and the Kosdaq fell 0.29%. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.3%.

TICKER	COMPANY	NAME	PRICE	CHANGE	%CHANGE
.N225	Nikkei 225 Index	*NIKKEI	28133.88	189.09	0.68
.HSI	Hang Seng Index	*HSI	17518.5	-137.41	-0.78
.AXJO	S&P/ASX 200	*ASX 200	7178.2	38.9	0.54
.SSEC	Shanghai	*SHANGHAI	3082.64	-2.41	-0.08
.KS11	KOSPI Index	*KOSPI	2410.97	-8.53	-0.35
.FTFCNBCA	CNBC 100 ASIA IDX	*CNBC 100	7597.19	3.78	0.05

On Monday, Chinese banks were reportedly encouraged to increase credit to support the economy, especially industries that have been hit harder by Covid. Separately, Chinese local media cited the nation’s securities regulator as saying the country needs to improve balance sheets of “good quality” property developers, according to Reuters.

Baidu and Kuaishou are set to report earnings later Tuesday.

Overnight in the U.S., stocks closed lower after a volatile session.

Baidu, Kuaishou shares fall ahead of earnings report

Baidu is expected to see a slight drop in revenue in the third quarter of 2022, a mean of estimates from a Refinitiv poll showed.

The company is expected to see a 0.05% drop in revenue to 31.904 billion yuan ($4.46 billion) for the July to September quarter, after it reported 31.92 billion yuan for the same period a year ago.

Meanwhile, Tiktok rival Kuaishou is expected to see a 10.2% growth in revenue for the third quarter to 22.58 billion yuan, a separate Refinitiv poll indicated — which would be the slowest pace of yearly growth since the company started reporting earnings.

Hong Kong-listed shares of Kuaishou fell 4.1% ahead of earnings, while Baidu shares were down 0.44% in the morning session.

–Jihye Lee

CNBC Pro: Morgan Stanley’s Wilson says inflation is set to slide, but warns of a ‘new era’ ahead

Morgan Stanley’s Chief U.S. Equity Strategist Mike Wilson said he expects a “pretty steep decline in inflation,” and predicts when this could happen.

But he said there are two areas that are exceptions, where inflation could be “stickier.”

— Weizhen Tan

Oil prices flat after hitting lowest levels since January

Oil prices were little changed in Asia’s morning after reaching its lowest levels since January on Monday.

U.S. crude was fractionally higher at $80.08 per barrel after touching $75.08 in Monday’s session.

Brent crude gained slightly to $87.52 per barrel. It hit $82.31 in the previous session.

Oil futures briefly plunged on Monday after the Wall Street Journal reported OPEC+ was considering increasing supply by 500,000 barrels per day. Saudi Arabia later disputed that report.

— Abigail Ng

Stocks fall Monday to start short holiday week

Stocks slipped Monday in a volatile trading session to kick off the short holiday week.

The S&P 500 shed 0.39% to 3,949.94 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.09% to end the day at 11,024.51. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 45.41 points, or 0.13%, to 33,700.28, though losses on the index were mitigated by a jump in Disney shares, which surged more than 6%.

Disney jumped after the company announced that former CEO Bob Iger would replace Bob Chapek.

—Carmen Reinicke

Source : CNBC