ASX set to leap after techs power Wall Street bounce
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Australian shares are set to leap at the open, as they play catch up to a rally on Wall Street, triggered by renewed demand for tech stocks.
ASX futures were up 107 points or 1.6 per cent to 6800. The S&P/ASX 200 shed 49.9 points or 0.7 per cent on Friday. The local currency slipped 0.5 per cent.
In New York, all three benchmarks closed sharply higher on Friday local time, though that was not before a broad selloff to start the day.
The trigger for the drop was the February jobs report, which was better than expected and was at least initially interpreted as a sign that US interest rates may need to be lifted sooner than later.
Premier Li unveils growth target above 6% IT firms up as China ramps up tech commitment
SHANGHAI, March 5 (Reuters) - China shares ended a see-saw morning session lower on Friday as investors digested a modest annual growth target set in the premier’s annual work report and a stronger commitment to supporting home-grown technology. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang revealed a modest above-6% economic growth target for the country this year in his work report, below analyst consensus, as the economy emerges from a year disrupted by the effects of COVID-19. The low target frees up Beijing to deal with economic issues detrimental to long-term stability, said Zhiwei Zhang, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management. “The speech of Chairman Guo Shuqing of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission on Tuesday clearly conveyed the government’s concern about the risk of bubbles in the current market, and also made it clear that interest rates will rise this year.
China's blue-chip stocks closed slightly lower on Friday, as investors digested the modest annual growth target set in the premier's annual work report, although tech shares rebounded on a stronger commitment to supporting home-grown technology.
There are two ways to address this. One way is to relax the birth control, something (that) will help on the margin, but even if they fully relax the control (it s) probably difficult to reverse the trend, said Zhiwei Zhang, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management. The other way to deal with it, from an economic policy perspective, is to make industry more dependent on other sectors, he said.
China s economy has relied heavily on industries such as manufacturing that require large amounts of cheap labor. But rising wages are making Chinese factories less attractive, while workers will need higher skills to help the country become more innovative.
Authorities have recently rolled back the one-child policy. But economists say other changes are needed for boosting growth as China’s population rapidly.