A rally in Asian shares sputtered on Thursday, pressured by a pullback in Chinese stocks and higher U.S. yields amid fears that global central banks would keep raising interest rates to combat sticky inflation.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) lost 0.3%, reversing some of the 2.1% gain in the previous session – the index’s best day in two months. Japan’s Nikkei (.N225), on the other hand, eased 0.2%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index (.HSI) retreated 1.0%, after registering the biggest daily gain of 4.2% in nearly three months the previous day, buoyed by unexpectedly robust readings from China PMI surveys.
Investors’ enthusiasm has faded somewhat over China’s economic reopening after Beijing dismantled its strict COVID-19 controls in December, as analysts look for more evidence to gauge the pace of economic recovery.
U.S. futures erased earlier gains, with the S&P 500 stock futures falling 0.5% and Nasdaq futures down 0.7%.
Tesla shares (TSLA.O) slumped 5.5% in after-hour trading, after the Tesla Investor Day failed to excite investors. The company will cut vehicle assembly costs by half in future generations of cars, engineers told investors.
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