China Stocks Rise Amid Broader Asian Market Weakness

In today’s trading, Chinese stocks rose, despite the Asian market’s weak performance as investors sought safe havens amid economic uncertainty.

Stocks faced pressure amid concerns about the US economic outlook, despite reassurances from Federal Reserve officials that the US is not headed for a recession. Increased geopolitical tensions are also weighing on the markets. This follows a session on Wednesday where Asian markets mostly closed higher. 

Despite sluggish export growth, Chinese tech shares led the gains, bolstered by a stronger yuan and expectations of China’s resilience. Tech shares spurred gains across the region, although the yen and US bonds rebounded as global investors faced market volatility. 

The Shanghai Composite index increased by 0.38%, supported by a stronger yuan and investor confidence in China’s stability, even as July grew slowly in three months. 

Building on gains from the previous two sessions, the Japanese market is modestly higher on Thursday after initially opening in the red, despite broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. 

The Nikkei 225 is trading well above the 35,100 level, with some traders buying stocks at a bargain following a recent sell-off. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed the morning session at 35,148.10, up by 0.17%, after hitting a low of 34,207.16 and a high of 35,225.15 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply higher on Wednesday. 

Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index increased by 0.3% after falling sharply. Taiwan’s trade data for July, expected later in the day, was anticipated to show weakening but still positive export and import growth. The benchmark Taiex fell 2.5% in morning trading.