By Rae Wee
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Asia shares eased on Wednesday on the back of weakness in China, as investors brace for a tightly contested U.S. election that could have huge ramifications for the world’s second-largest economy, even as Beijing tries to shore up growth.
Gold rose to an all-time high as jitters over the close U.S. presidential race supported the yellow metal, while bitcoin also flirted with a record peak as markets weigh the prospect of a victory by Republican candidate Donald Trump.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.22% in early trade, tracking a decline in Chinese assets.
The CSI300 blue-chip index fell 0.16%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slid 0.64%.
The moves came even as Reuters reported on Tuesday that China is considering approving next week the issuance of more than 10 trillion yuan ($1.4 trillion) in extra debt in the next few years to revive its fragile economy.
“China’s latest stimulus package appears underwhelming, with 60% allocated to local government debt relief,” said Saxo’s chief investment strategist Charu Chanana.
“While there’s a stronger focus on supporting the property sector, urgency around broader structural issues – such as debt, deflation, and demographics – remains limited.
“Equity support could offer some lift to domestic confidence, but foreign investors are still highly concerned about potential tariff threats if next week’s U.S. elections result in a Republican sweep.”
China’s new energy vehicles index ticked up 0.2%, largely unfazed by news that the European Union has decided to increase tariffs on Chinese-built electric vehicles to as much as 45.3%.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures ticked higher, buoyed by a solid result from Google-parent Alphabet, which reported quarterly revenue that beat estimates.
Nasdaq futures gained 0.42%, while S&P 500 futures rose 0.36%.
Meta Platforms and Microsoft report their earnings later in the day, followed by Apple and Amazon.com on Thursday. [.N]
Investors will be closely watching the results to determine whether Wall Street can sustain the optimism around technology and artificial intelligence that has lifted indexes to record highs this year.
Elsewhere, Japan’s Nikkei rose nearly 1%, riding on the momentum of a weaker yen. [.T]
U.S. FOCUS
Bitcoin stood just a whisker away from its peak of $73,803.25 and last bought $72,322.08, on track to gain 13% for the month.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency has been bolstered by the growing possibility of Trump’s return to the White House, as he is seen taking a more favourable stance towards digital assets.