Jamie McGeever provides a preview of the Asian markets for the next day.
Tuesday’s attention for investors is firmly on China: Eyes are on a wide range of economic and market statistics, including the first-quarter GDP, while the most recent development in the deteriorating U.S.-Sino ties will not lessen geopolitical worries.
As part of a campaign against Beijing’s suspected targeting of dissidents in the United States, American law enforcement officers detained two New York residents on Monday for allegedly running a Chinese “secret police station” in Manhattan’s Chinatown.
Also on Monday, U.S. authorities announced charges against 34 Chinese officials for allegedly running a “troll farm” and harassing opposition figures online, including by interrupting meetings on American technology platforms.
The world’s two superpowers are now experiencing rising tension, most notably over Taiwan. Just a few days after China concluded its most recent war maneuvers near the island, a U.S. destroyer passed across the Taiwan Strait on Sunday.
Investors’ actions include moving their feet. According to a Goldman Sachs analysis, major international money managers recently sold Chinese stocks while purchasing U.S. energy shares to portfolios at a nearly record rate.
Investors could be responding differently if it were just based on Chinese economic data. The nation’s reopening after almost three years of Covid lockdown has gone better than predicted by many metrics; last week, China’s economic surprises index reached a 17-year high.
The figures that will be released on Tuesday are anticipated to reveal that the gross domestic product increased 2.9% between October and December and 4.0% from a year earlier.
Retail sales are expected to expand by 7.4% in March, more than double the 3.5% increase in February. Urban investment, industrial production, and retail sales are all expected to grow considerably on an annual basis.