WORLDWIDE: HEADLINES 

China $9 Bln IPO Plans Stalled Amid COVID Outbreak – Filings, Estimate 

A wave of Chinese companies have halted domestic listing plans, filings show, as the country’s biggest coronavirus outbreak in two years hampered due diligence and information gathering, affecting an estimated $9 billion-plus in fundraising. 

Over the past week, 15 companies seeking initial public offerings (IPOs) on Shanghai’s tech-focused STAR Market have suspended applications, almost all citing impact from the epidemic, exchange filings showed. The city started lockdowns on Monday. 

In Shenzhen, which conducted three rounds of mass testing in March, 67 IPO applicants have suspend the listing process this month, citing the need to update disclosure to regulators, according to filings. 

The suspension potentially delays fundraising worth 60 billion yuan ($9.43 billion), official newspaper Securities Times estimated. 

To minimise the impact, the Shanghai Stock Exchange has vowed to maintain the steady operation of capital markets during the “special” virus control period. 

The bourse said on Sunday it would continue to vet share sale plans by STAR Market candidates and strengthen online communications with issuers and underwriters. 

Full coverage: REUTERS 

China Evergrande To Sell Stake In Crystal City Project For $575 Mln 

China Evergrande (3333.HK) will sell its interest in Crystal City Project for 3.66 billion yuan ($575.45 million), according to a Hong Kong Stock Exchange filing on Wednesday, as the group’s liquidity issues dampen the progress of its projects. 

The embattled developer plans to dispose of the state-owned construction land-use right for its under-construction Crystal City Project in the Hangzhou area, and the ownership right to the buildings, according to the filing. 

Evergrande said in the filing that it would use the proceeds to repay construction fees of 920.7 million yuan for projects in Hangzhou, including the Crystal City Project, and expects a gain of about 216 million yuan through the stake disposal. 

Last week, the world’s most indebted property developer had said it will unveil a debt restructuring proposal for its creditors by the end of July after concerns about its financial health were renewed by a delay in publishing its annual results. 

Full coverage: REUTERS 

WORLDWIDE: FINANCE/BUSINESS 

Asia Shares Join Global Rally After Ukraine-Russia Talks 

Asia shares joined a global rally on Wednesday as hopes rose for a negotiated end to the Ukraine conflict, while bond markets signaled concern overnight that aggressive rate hikes could damage the U.S. economy after 10-year yields briefly dipped below two year rates. 

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) rose 1%, and touched its highest level since March 4, with most Asian stock markets in positive territory. 

Japan’s Nikkei (.N225) bucked the trend however, falling 1%, as observers pointed to profit taking heading into the end of the fiscal year. The benchmark hit a two-month closing high on Tuesday. 

Ukraine, on Tuesday, proposed adopting a neutral status in a sign of progress at face-to-face negotiations, though on the ground, reports of attacks continued, and Ukraine reacted with skepticism to Russia’s promise in negotiations to scale down military operations around Kyiv.  

Nonetheless, the news helped the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) and S&P 500 (.SPX) notch their fourth straight session of gains overnight, after European shares had rallied sharply. 

U.S. S&P 500 futures were little changed in Asia trade. 

“On the one hand there has been more positive news regarding Ukraine, and the market is hopeful of a peace deal at some point, which is resulting in a bit of a ‘risk-on’ event, with shares up and bond yields trending higher,” said Shane Oliver chief economist and head of investment strategy at AMP Capital. 

“But then it’s back to worrying about inflation and bond yields, and there’s this debate about whether we’re going to see a recession in the U.S. because of the inversion of part of the U.S. yield curve.” 

The widely tracked U.S. 2-year/10-year Treasury yield curve briefly inverted on Tuesday for the first time since September 2019, as bond investors bet that aggressive tightening by the Federal Reserve could hurt the U.S. economy over the longer term. 

Longer-dated yields falling below shorter ones indicate a lack of faith in future growth, and 10-year yields falling beneath 2-year rates is widely seen as a harbinger of recession. 

Full coverage: REUTERS 

Hopes Of Peace In Ukraine Keep Euro Afloat 

The dollar was kept on the back foot on Wednesday as hopes for a breakthrough in Russia-Ukraine peace talks lifted the euro, while the under-pressure yen steadied even as the Bank of Japan redoubled efforts to pin down bond yields. 

The euro, battered in recent weeks by fear of the economic fallout from war in Ukraine and nerves about the risk of the conflict spreading west, touched a two-week high of $1.1137 overnight, before settling back to $1.1091 in Asia. 

The common currency also jumped through its 200-day moving average on the pound to hit a three-month high of 84.81 pence, while Russia’s rouble surged to a one-month top of 83.50 to the dollar. 

Russia has promised to scale down military operations around Kyiv and Ukraine proposed adopting a neutral status in a sign of progress at face-to-face negotiations in Istanbul.  

U.S. officials poured a little bit of cold water on hopes for a deal by warning the threat to Kyiv isn’t over. 

“At least the two sides are talking,” said Commonwealth Bank of Australia strategist Joe Capurso. 

“The tentative good news about the war will benefit the euro more than any other currency given Europe’s proximity to the conflict and reliance on Russian energy,” he said. 

The mood also proved helpful for risk-sensitive currencies such as the Australian and New Zealand dollars. They were firm just below recent peaks in morning trade, with the Aussie at $0.7512 and kiwi at $0.6946. 

The South Korean won, which like the euro has been battered by the leap in oil prices since war began just over a month ago, logged its best session in two years overnight. 

The yen, meanwhile, is fighting to find a floor around 123 to the dollar. 

Full coverage: REUTERS 

Oil Rises On Supply Tightness Despite “Constructive” Ukraine-Russia Talks 

Oil prices climbed on Wednesday, erasing losses from the previous session, on hopes of progress in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine and providing a fresh reminder supply remains tight as data showed U.S. crude stocks fell sharply last week. 

Brent crude futures touched a high of $112.78 shortly after opening and were up $1.35, or 1.2%, at $111.58 at 0005 GMT, reversing a 2% loss in the previous session. 

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures jumped $1.29, or 1.2%, to $105.53 a barre, erasing a 1.6% drop on Tuesday. 

The focus turned to supply tightness after the American Petroleum Institute industry group reported crude stocks fell by 3 million barrels in the week ended March 25, according to market sources. 

That was triple the decline that 10 analysts polled by Reuters had expected on average. 

The market had dropped about 2% in the previous session after Russia promised to scale down military operations around Kyiv and another city, more than a month after the invasion of Ukraine that Moscow calls a “special operation” to disarm its neighbour. 

However, reports of attacks continued, and although Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said there were promising signs from peace talks held in Istanbul on Tuesday, he was looking for concrete results.  

“We can say the signals we are receiving from the talks are positive but they do not drown out the explosions of Russian shells,” Zelenskiy said in a late-night address.  

Commonwealth Bank analyst Tobin Gorey said in a note that “The (price) recovery suggests the oil market, at least, has a strong degree of scepticism about any ‘progress’.” 

Keeping the market tight, major oil producers are unlikely to boost output above their agreed 400,000 barrels per day when the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia, together called OPEC+, meet on Thursday, several sources close to the group said.  

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, key members of OPEC+, said the group would not look to take action against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, saying the producers’ group was only to stabilise the market and not to engage in politics.  

Full coverage: REUTERS