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sian equities experienced a strong day despite the US dollar's overnight surge, with Taiwan, the Philippines, and Pakistan outperforming, while South Korea underperformed for the second time this year. The KOSPI and growth-focused KOSDAQ are now down 15% and 28% year-to-date.
Taiwan, the Philippines, and Pakistan led Asian equities higher, as Hong Kong and Mainland China also saw strong sessions driven by growth stocks following better-than-expected purchasing managers' indexes and auto sales. The Politburo and China Economic Work Conference may take place earlier than usual, but US government export semiconductor restrictions were a non-event.
Meituan was Hong Kong's most traded stock, falling only 0.77% despite its unsponsored ADR dropping 7.42%. Discount retail chain MINISIO gained 18.22%, further validating the preference for Hong Kong shares over US listings. Consumption plays performed well in both Hong Kong and Mainland China, with the Shanghai and Guangzhou governments issuing consumption vouchers to boost consumer confidence.
November square meter sales increased by 5% and 3% from October in Tier 1 cities and top 30 cities, respectively, while year-over-year growth reached 57% and 20%. New energy vehicle sales were strong, led by BYD's 506,804 units. Guangzhou Auto gained 25.17% after announcing an electric vehicle partnership with Huawei.
Hong Kong saw a net inflow of $2.53 billion from Mainland investors, primarily into the Hong Kong Tracker ETF. PBOC Governor Pan Gongsheng stated that the central bank would support the economy, while Jiangxi and Shandong provinces reported refinancing RMB 55.1 billion and RMB 12.9 billion worth of hidden debt.
National Team ETFs had below-average volumes, indicating domestic investors are returning to the market. The Wall Street Journal highlighted Lei Zhang's Hillhouse Capital, which is raising money from the Middle East and Asia, supporting our China re-rating thesis that local capital will flow back into China first, followed by Asian investors.
