Asia-Pacific markets mixed, Hang Seng index at lowest levels in 11 years; oil rises

Abigail Ng

Shares in the Asia-Pacific mostly fell on Monday as markets enter the last quarter of the year.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was 1.19% down, reaching the lowest levels since October 2011, according to Refinitiv Eikon data. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gave up early gains to fall 0.12%.

The Nikkei 225 in Japan fell more than 1% in early trade, but recovered slightly and was last up 0.5%, while the Topix index was 0.1% higher. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 0.8%.

Brent crude futures and West Texas Intermediate futures jumped on reports of a possible OPEC+ supply cut. Later in the week, Australia’s central bank will announce its interest rate decision, while several countries in Asia will report inflation data.

China markets are closed for the Golden Week holiday, and South Korea’s market is also closed.

TICKER	COMPANY	NAME	PRICE	CHANGE	%CHANGE
.N225	Nikkei 225 Index	*NIKKEI	26083.96	146.75	0.57
.HSI	Hang Seng Index	*HSI	17018.62	-204.21	-1.19
.AXJO	S&P/ASX 200	*ASX 200	6465.3	-8.9	-0.14
.SSEC	Shanghai	*SHANGHAI	3024.39	-16.81	-0.55
.KS11	KOSPI Index	*KOSPI	2155.49	-15.44	-0.71
.FTFCNBCA	CNBC 100 ASIA IDX	*CNBC 100	6878.08	-41.07	-0.59

ANZ sees significant chance of an OPEC+ cut as large as 1 million barrels per day

Ahead of an OPEC+ meeting on Oct. 5, ANZ sees a “significant chance of a cut” as large as 1 million barrels per day, analysts at the firm said in a note.

That move is likely to be made “to counteract the excessive bearishness in the market.”

The note added that any production cuts below 500,000 barrels per day, however, would be “shrugged off by the market.”

–Jihye Lee

CNBC Pro: Investment pro says ETFs are a $10 trillion opportunity — and reveals areas of ‘tremendous’ value

Exchange-traded funds offer the benefit of diversification, says Jon Maier, chief investment officer at Global X ETFs. He said the ETF market is “growing exponentially” and estimates it to be worth $10 trillion.

He names several opportunities for ETF investors in this volatile market.

— Zavier Ong

Business confidence of Japan’s large manufacturers worsens

Sentiment of Japan’s large manufacturers worsened in the July-to-September quarter, according to the Bank of Japan’s latest quarterly tankan business sentiment survey.

The headline index for large manufacturers’ sentiment came in at 8, a decline from the previous quarter’s reading of 9. Economists polled by Reuters expected a print of 11.

“Our expectation and market expectations were for the manufacturing reading to pick up — supply conditions had improved, you’ve seen fading supply impact from zero-Covid policies in China, commodity prices came down a little bit,” said Stefan Angrick, a senior economist at Moody’s Analytics.

“The fact that the manufacturing side of the economy isn’t doing so well certainly isn’t great for the outlook,” he told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia.”

But the non-manufacturing index ticked up slightly, which could mean Japan’s late Covid recovery is getting underway, he added.

— Abigail Ng

CNBC Pro: The five global stocks experiencing the de-globalisation trend, according to HSBC

New research from HSBC says supply chains, geopolitical tensions, and worsening financial conditions have forced many global companies to “substantially” turn inward in search of resilient revenue and growth.

In a tough economic environment with recessionary pressures, the bank said turning inwards is “probably helpful” for these stocks.

The report titled ‘A de-globalisation wave?’ said European firms’ foreign sales dipped below 50% in 2021, the lowest level in the last five years.

— Ganesh Rao

Oil prices jump on reports of OPEC+ mulling production cut

Oil prices jumped after reports that OPEC+ is considering an oil output cut of more than a million barrels per day, citing sources.

Such a move would be the biggest taken by the organization to address weakness in global demand.

Brent crude futures jumped 3.3% to $87.97 per barrel, while U.S. crude futures also popped 3.21% to trade at $82.04 per barrel.

— Jihye Lee

CNBC Pro: Should investors flee stocks? Strategists give their take — and reveal how to trade the volatility

With monetary policy set to tighten further in the months ahead, and Wall Street mired in the depths of a bear market abyss, many investors are beginning to wonder if now’s the time to exit the stock market and put their money in other asset classes.

CNBC Pro spoke to market watchers and scoured through research from investment banks to find out what the pros think.

— Zavier Ong

Source : CNBC