NEW YORK: Asian stocks traded in a tight range ahead of a Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) policy decision, while equities in Hong Kong extended a tech-powered rally.
A regional benchmark of shares swung between gains and losses, while Australian equities slipped before the RBA decision. The dollar strengthened against most of its major peers.
The optimism around China was boosted Monday (Feb 17) after a meeting between President Xi Jinping and business figures, including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. co-founder Jack Ma, lifted expectations that a years-long crackdown on the private sector is ending. DeepSeek’s breakthrough in artificial intelligence has driven a rally of more than US$1 trillion in Chinese shares.
"It’s a good rebound, but before it really evolves into a multiyear rising trend, a lot needs to be done,” Hao Hong, a partner and economist at Grow Investment Group, said in a Bloomberg TV interview. "If you really want a sustainable bull market, you really want a sustainable growth model going forward.”
Xi’s meeting drew many of the biggest names in Chinese business over the past decade, representing industries from chipmaking and electric vehicles to AI. The summit demonstrated Beijing’s softer stance toward the companies that fuel most of its economy, just as Washington ramps up a potentially debilitating campaign of global tariffs.
A gauge of major Hong Kong-listed technology stocks is trading near a three-year high after its DeepSeek-driven rally, despite a slight pullback on Monday.
The Australian dollar held near a two-month high before the central bank meeting that’s expected to see the first rate cut in four years. However, a strong labour market, resilient consumer spending, robust credit growth and a weaker currency could make the case for a hold, said Bloomberg Economics economist James McIntyre.
Meanwhile, BHP Group Ltd.’s first-half profit slumped 23 per cent in results released early Tuesday, as the world’s biggest public miner said it was impacted by falling Chinese demand for key commodities including iron ore and copper.
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said recent economic data support keeping US interest rates on hold, but if inflation behaves as it did in 2024, policymakers can get back to cutting "at some point this year.”
In commodities, oil held its advance after an advance as OPEC+ delegates said the group was considering delaying restoring output, and Ukrainian drones attacked a crude-pumping station in Russia. Gold held a gain after rising 0.5 per cent on Monday. - Bloomberg
