A pedestrian walks past an electronic screen displaying the Hang Seng Index, left, and the Hang Seng China Industry Top Index in Hong Kong. Picture: BLOOMBERG/CHAN LONG HEI
Regional bond yields rose with those on US Treasuries, where the market priced in higher inflation by narrowing the spread between short- and long-term yields, and pushing break even rates to the highest since 2012. Chinese blue chips gained 0.3%, with the CSI300 Real Estate Index rising 2.5%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.4%, as an index tracking Hong Kong-listed mainland developers rallied 4.3%.China Evergrande Group wired funds to a trustee account on Thursday for a dollar bond interest payment due on September 23, a source told Reuters on Friday, days before a deadline that would have plunged the embattled developer into formal default. The stock jumped 5.4%.
“The narrative over the last couple of days has been earnings focused and tech stocks have led the charge,” said Kyle Rodda, a market analyst at IG Australia. “There’s momentum there, simple as that.”