SINGAPORE : Asian stocks struggled on Thursday, dragged by selling in Hong Kong tech shares, while the dollar was under pressure and short-dated bonds were firm as softening U.S. inflation seemed to suggest the U.S. rate hike cycle was nearing its end.
Alibaba shares were down 3 per cent in early trade and SoftBank shares flat and neither immediately responded to Reuters enquiries. "Some hit is expected, with banks tightening their lending standards," said currency analyst Moh Siong Sim at the Bank of Singapore. Two-year Treasury yields dropped more than 8 bps and were then steady in Asia trade at 3.9662 per cent. Fed funds futures imply about a 70 per cent chance that there's one more rate hike coming in May, followed by cuts nearer the end of the year.Ahead on Thursday are Chinese trade figures, that might go to the strength of what is investors' greatest hope for growth in 2023, which is China's post-pandemic recovery.
Goldman Sachs sounded upbeat in research published overnight, noting risks of an outright banking crisis have declined sharply since no further banks have blown up since the weekend of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank a month ago.
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