Asian Stock Market: Coronavirus join hawkish Fed to please bears

• Markets in Asia-Pacific see the red as virus woes extend post-FOMC Minutes losses.
• China Caixin PMI came in stronger, Aussie activity data matched forecasts.
• US T-bond yields refresh multi-day high, stock futures drop to two-week low.
• US ISM Services PMI awaited ahead of Friday’s NFP.

Asian equities track Wall Street losses as Fed-linked fears join worsening global covid conditions. That said, MSCI’s index of Asia ex-Japan shares drop 0.70% while Japan’s Nikkei 225 drops 2.6% during early Thursday.

Shares in Australia led the losers amid outcry over the Aussie policymakers’ rejection of a  renowned tennis player’s visas over vaccine status. As a result, ASX 200 drops over 2.70% at the latest. New Zealand’s NZX 50 also joins the league with around 2.2% daily downside amid escalating COVID-19 cases linked to Auckland’s brothel.

It’s worth noting that China’s upbeat Caixin Services PMI for December and Premier Li Keqiang’s readiness to stabilize growth failed to impress investors in Beijing and Hong Kong.

Further, South Korea’s KOSPI declines 0.70% and Indonesia’s IDX Composite posted around 1.0% loss at the latest. India’s BSE Sensex is in the same line as daily infections jump to the highest since June.

On Wednesday, Fed policymakers’ discussion over the faster rate-hike and plans for balance-sheet normalization, per FOMC Minutes propelled the market towards risk safety. As a result, the US 10-year Treasury yields jumped to the highest level since April 2021 by the end of Wednesday’s North American session and drowned the Wall Street benchmark. Recently, the US 10-year bond yields refresh a nine-month high of around 1.71%, which in turn weighed on the S&P 500 Futures.

Looking forward, German Inflation data will precede the monthly prints of the US Good Trade Balance and ISM Services PMI for December, as well as weekly US Jobless Claims, to entertain short-term market players. However, Friday’s US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) is the key.

Read: Yields consolidate Fed Minutes-led gains at nine-month top, S&P 500 Futures rise 0.15%