The MSCI indicator for stocks in the Asia Pacific ex-Japan region was down 0.18% at 01:27 GMT.
China’s economy is expected to have slowed sharply in the fourth quarter due to tight COVID-related restrictions, driving 2022 growth to one of the lowest rates in nearly half a century and increasing pressure on policy makers to unveil further measures of stimulus this year.
Tuesday’s data is expected to show gross domestic product (GDP) rose 1.8% in October-December a year earlier, less than half the pace of 3.9% in the third quarter, according to a Reuters poll . On a quarterly basis, GDP is expected to contract by 0.8% in the fourth quarter.
Official data will be released at 02:00 GMT.
“I think investors will look at the Q4 GDP printouts and focus on 2023,” said Redmond Wong, Greater China market strategist at Saxo Markets Hong Kong. “According to Chinese media, more than half of the 31 provinces and municipalities that have released employment reports for 2023 aim for growth of more than 5.5% for 2023.”
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index opened 0.3% lower, while China’s CSI300 benchmark was unchanged.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.35% after the start of its two-day Bank of Japan (BOJ) meeting. The BOJ is under pressure to change its interest rate policy on Wednesday after the central bank’s attempt to give itself some breathing room backfired, encouraging bond investors to test its resolve.
The dollar moved away from its multi-month low on Tuesday, while the yen was near its seven-month high as investors held their breath in anticipation of a possible policy change from the BOJ.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was flat on Tuesday morning, down just 0.01% by 01:28 GMT, after hitting a seven-month high on Monday.
European shares hit a nearly nine-month high on Monday, with the pan-European STOXX 600 closing 0.5% up at 454.6 – the highest level since April 2022 – as global equities continued to build on the New Year’s recovery boosted by hopes of a rebound in the Chinese economy and the easing of price pressures in the United States and Europe.
US markets were closed on Monday for a public holiday.
“At the heart of the debate in financial markets into early 2023 is how quickly inflation will fall and whether or not major economies will be able to avoid hard landings,” ANZ analysts wrote in a report on Tuesday. Research.
“The decline in US inflation is encouraging, although the central point is that the decline is largely driven by energy and commodity prices,” the report said.
“Services inflation continues to rise year-on-year in the United States and is likely to remain strong as long as the supply-demand imbalance in the labor market persists,” the report added.
Two-thirds of leading private and public sector economists polled by the World Economic Forum in Davos expect a global recession this year, with 18% rating it “extremely likely”, double the number in the previous survey conducted in September 2022.
U.S. crude fell 1.35% to $78.78 a barrel, while Brent crude fell 0.41% to $84.11 a barrel, although prices are still near their highs this month. the first crude oil importer in the world.
Spot gold fell 0.15% to $1,915.18 an ounce.