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Informist, Monday, Feb. 2, 2026                                      Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

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Equity Alert: Asian indices mixed; mkts asses Warsh nomination, China data

 

MUMBAI--0758 IST--Asian equity indices were mixed on Monday. This comes as investors in the region await private data from China and assess the possibility of interest rate cuts in the US following US President Donald Trump's nomination of Kevin Warsh as the replacement for current US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Japanese indexes were higher as the country prepares for snap elections after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi dissolved the lower house. 

 

Asian indices were mixed as the region awaits data on China's factory activity in January, CNBC reported. On Friday, US stock indices ended lower despite investors approving the nomination of Kevin Warsh to head the country's central bank. Oil prices fell almost 3% as Trump said over the weekend that Iran was "seriously talking" with the US administration, which could reduce the chances of a possible US strike on the West Asian country, Reuters reported.

 

Japan's Nikkei as well as Topix First Section indices were higher. This comes as opinion polls indicate that Takaichi's Liberal Democratic Party is expected to secure more than 233 of the 465 seats needed for a majority. "A huge LDP (Liberal Democratic Party) win would further strengthen Takaichi's grip on power. It won't be surprising for markets to see a higher chance of Takaichi pursuing her flagship proactive fiscal policies, including a consumption tax cut," Keisuke Tsuruta, senior bond strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities was reported as saying.

 

Takaichi has been talking up the advantages of a weaker yen, saying "People say the weak yen is bad right now, but for export industries, it's a major opportunity," according to Reuters. "Whether it's selling food or automobiles, even though there were US tariffs, the weaker yen has served as a buffer. That has helped us tremendously," Takaichi added. However, she went on to soften her stance, claiming she did not favour a specific direction for the currency. "My intention was solely to state that we aim to build an economic structure that is resilient to exchange-rate fluctuation, and not, as some reports have suggested, to emphasise the benefits of a weak yen," she said.     

 

The Korean index opened lower and has fallen below the 5100 point benchmark for the first time since it crossed it on Jan. 28. Shares of Samsung were over 2% lower and those of SK Hynix were down over 4%. The country's stock market is expected to have been influenced by expectations that interest rate cuts in the US will be delayed following Trump's nomination of Kevin Warsh, who is seen taking a 'hawkish' stance, an article from the Chosun said. During early trading, foreign investors were seen net selling shares worth 549.20 billion Korean won or $376.56 million, while domestic individual investors net bought 476.6 billion Korean won or $326.83 million worth of shares and institutional investors bought shares worth 62.10 billion or $42.59 million. 

 

Following are the levels of key Asian indices at 0752 IST:

 

INDEX	LEVEL	CHANGE IN %
CSI 300 Index	4711.35	0.11
Hang Seng Index	27046.47	(-)1.24
KOSPI	5094.36	(-)2.49
Nikkei 225 Day	53464.53	0.27
TOPIX FIRST SECTION	3581.62	0.43
FTSE Singapore Straits Times	4905.25	0.00
S&P/ASX 200 Index	8784.90	(-)0.95
IDX Composite	8048.00	(-)0.38

 

(Akshat Saksena)

 

US$1 = INR 91.98

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

All prices from National Stock Exchange, unless otherwise specified.

All percentage changes for share prices are rounded off to the nearest whole number; percentage changes for index values are rounded off to one decimal place.

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