Asian Stock Market: Despite Evergrande optimism, Hang Seng ends flat

• Asian shares track Wall Street gains amid softer US Treasury yields.
• Evergrande restarts 16 sites after paying US bond coupons, PBOC stays defensive.
• Australia eyes booster shots, NZ markets are off.
• Firmer oil probes equity bulls amid a quiet start to a key week.

Update: The Hang Seng ended the session flat, up 0.02%, despite the fact that early session optimism was felt after Evergrande reportedly started work at a number of sites that had been shut down of late. A possible flare up of covid might have halted some bulls. The Nikkei ended its session down 0.71%, though up more than 100 points from the lower open.

Asian equities portray a positive week-start heading into Monday’s European session, thanks to headlines from China. Also contributing to the risk-on mood are the US stimulus hopes and downbeat US Treasury yields.

US policymakers, including President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, signaled nearness to the much-awaited infrastructure spending deal of late. The same joins China-based Evergrande’s comments, suggesting it has resumed construction work on 16 sites, including the latest six, to brighten the mood. Further, China’s ability to regain the formal seat at the United Nations (UN) and the People’s Bank of China’s (PBOC) efforts to safeguard the financial system, recently by a net 190 billion yuan injection, also underpin the positive sentiment.

On the contrary, fresh covid fears from China, as conveyed by Mi Feng, a spokesman at the National Health Commission, joins the Fed tapering chatters, underpinned by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell on Friday, challenge the mood.

Amid these plays, MSCI’s index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gains 0.20% intraday. However, Japan’s Nikkei drops 0.85% at the latest after an insurance company Meiji Yasuda Life hints at further yen strength.

Elsewhere, Australia eyes COVID-19 booster shots soon after the virus-led activity restrictions ease, per Reuters, which in turn joins recently softer Aussie virus numbers to help ASX gain 0.35% by the press time. That being said, Chinese stocks are mildly bid whereas those from Indonesia India, and South Korea follows the suit. It's worth noting that Turkish Lira refreshed record top at the week's start, following the weekend headlines, before trimming the gains to 1.35% on a day at the latest.

On a broader front, S&P 500 Futures reverse the early Asian losses to poke the record high flashed on Friday whereas the US 10-year Treasury yields drop 1.3 basis points (bps) to 1.642% at the latest. It’s worth noting that Wall Street closed firmer the previous day even as Fed Chair Jerome Powell backed tapering and refrained from terming inflation as ‘transitory’.

Read: S&P 500 Futures, US Treasury yields wobble amid quiet markets