Markets mixed as upbeat US data plays against rates outlook

Asian markets were mixed Wednesday as investors weighed data showing the US economy remained resilient in the face of rising interest rates against the prospect of more tightening to bring inflation under control.

Wall Street popped higher Tuesday after a string of readings soothed concerns about a possible recession, while traders were also cheered by Chinese growth pledges.

However, reports that Washington could block the export of artificial intelligence chips to China weighed on sentiment.

US investors cheered news that a closely watched gauge of consumer confidence last month hit its highest level since January last year, while new home sales surged in May and orders for big-ticket manufactured items rose again.

The figures tempered fears that the world's top economy could tip into recession because of more than a year of rate hikes, and lifted hopes the US Federal Reserve could still guide it to a so-called soft landing by also bringing inflation down to its two percent target.

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Meanwhile, President Joe Biden on Tuesday said that while economists had predicted a contraction was on the way, it still had not materialised.

"It's been coming for 11 months, well guess what? I don't think it is going to come," he told a fundraiser, flagging healthy jobs growth and anti-inflation measures.

But National Australia Bank's Rodrigo Catril pointed to "the theme of 'sectoral recessions' playing with different lags, making the Fed job to tame inflation harder".

He pointed to the property sector now performing well after being the first to be hit by rate hikes, while manufacturing is in recession at the same time the services sector is growing.

"Meanwhile the resilience of the labour market and consumer are feeding, not detracting from, inflationary pressures," he added. "Overall, the data is telling us the Fed needs to keep its foot on the tightening pedal."

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In early Asian trade, investors struggled to maintain Tuesday's momentum.

Tokyo, Sydney, Singapore, Wellington and Taipei all rose but Hong Kong, Shanghai, Wellington and Taipei dropped.

Investors are now looking forward to a meeting later Wednesday in Portugal of top central bankers including Fed boss Jerome Powell as well as the heads of the European Central Bank, the Bank of Japan and the Bank of England.

The BoJ is in focus as it stands by its ultra-loose monetary policy, even with the yen weakening on the back of expected Fed rate hikes.

The yen, which has lost almost 10 percent against the dollar this year, picked up slightly after Japan's top currency official Masato Kanda said authorities will respond should there be excessive foreign exchange moves.

Oil prices ticked slightly higher but made little impact on the more than two percent losses suffered Tuesday on long-running worries about demand caused by ever-rising interest rates, and as concerns ease over Russian supplies after the weekend's aborted uprising.

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"With no visible interruption to Russian oil flows from the weekend political upheaval, prices are falling as oil markets return to focus on spot fundamentals, which have not changed," said SPI Asset Management's Stephen Innes.

Key figures around 0230 GMT

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.9 percent at 32,842.39 (break)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.6 percent at 19,039.70

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.8 percent at 3,163.57

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0943 from $1.0964 on Tuesday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2726 from $1.2748

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 143.96 yen from 144.06 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 85.99 pence from 85.95 pence

West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.1 percent at $67.80 per barrel

Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.1 percent at $72.33 per barrel

New York - Dow: UP 0.6 percent at 33,926.74 (close)

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 7,461.46 (close)

Source: AFP