Asian markets shrugged off another decline on Wall Street last night, with markets in China gaining after state-run banks and other financial institutions were ordered to do more to help spur more consumer spending.
The Hang Seng (^HSI) jumped more than 2% in Hong Kong and the Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) was 1.8% up by the end of the session.
China’s National Financial Regulatory Administration issued a notice ordering financial institutions to help develop consumer finance and encourage use of credit cards, do more to aid borrowers who run into trouble, and be more transparent in their lending practices.
Economists say China needs consumers to spend more to get the economy out of the doldrums, although most have advocated broader, more fundamental reforms such as increasing wages, social welfare and support for public health and education.
The Nikkei (^N225) rose 0.7% on the day in Japan while South Korea’s Kospi (^KS11) slipped 0.3%.
Across the pond, Wall Street sank on Thursday with the S&P 500 (^GSPC) confirming it was in a correction as investors fled for safer assets amid Donald Trump’s latest tariff threats. The benchmark index finished more than 10pc below its most recent record high close, achieved on February 19.
The S&P 500 fell 1.4% to 5,521.52. The Dow Jones (^DJI) was also nearing a correction confirmation, ending 1.3% lower at 40,813.57, roughly 9.4% below its most recent record closing high.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq (^IXIC) fell 2% on the day, closing at 17,303.01. The index is now down more than 14% from its recent record after confirming a correction on 6 March.
In the bond market, US Treasury yields fell as the equities sell-off boosted demand for safe haven government debt. Yields move the opposite direction to bond prices.
The yield on benchmark 10-year US Treasury notes fell to 4.27%, from 4.32% late on Wednesday.