Positive Asian equities, with investors continuing to closely monitor what is happening in Ukraine. CNN reported on a convoy of Russian military vehicles at the gates of Kiev over 60 km long, and the Guardian reports the news of a Ukrainian military base in flames near the capital, following a Russian air attack.
During the night, new raids and bombings hit Ukraine.
Meanwhile, it is learned that Taiwan has adapted to the sanctions decided by the West, also deciding to oust Russian banks from the Swift international payment system.
The Nikkei 225 index on the Tokyo stock exchange closed the session up 1.20% at 26,844.72 points. The Shanghai stock exchange rose + 0.71%, Hong Kong + 0.69%, Sydney + 0.67%, Seoul + 0.84%.
US futures are also doing well: futures on the Dow Jones are up by about 0.25%, as have those on the S&P 500, while futures on the Nasdaq are up by 0.13%.
From the Chinese macroeconomic front, the manufacturing PMI index drawn up jointly by Caixin and Markit, which stood at 50.4 points in February, doing better than the 49.1 points expected by the consensus, and catching up with the expansion phase. In fact, the figure stood at a value above the threshold of 50 points, the dividing line between the contraction phase – values below – and the expansion phase, values above. The manufacturing PMI index had contracted in January, at 49.1 points.
The official SME of China was also disclosed, which marked a slight increase in February, rising from 50.1 in January to 50.2 points, better than the 49.9 expected by the consensus.
Focus in the Asia-Pacific area also on the RBA: the Australian central bank has admitted, in announcing its decision on rates, that the invasion of Ukraine by Russia is a factor that will necessarily affect monetary policy choices that he will have to adopt.
The key benchmark rates were left unchanged at 0.1%. The statement states that the war in Ukraine is now the main new source of uncertainty and that inflation is expected to rise due to higher oil prices and higher energy costs.
Protagonist on the Tokyo stock exchange Toyota, after the announcement by the Japanese automotive giant of the suspension of production, which will resume tomorrow, following a cyber attack that hit one of its suppliers causing various problems to its supply chain.
The news of a cyber attack also came from the Japanese groups Hino Motors and Daihatsu Motors.
It is the first time that Toyota has closed all plants due to a problem affecting the supply chain.