APAC Market Wrap - Jun 22

Mainland China

A-shares registered broad-based gains. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.78% to 4,163.10; the Shenzhen Component climbed 2.13% to 16,372.50; and the ChiNext Index advanced 2.52% to 4,359.39, touching a fresh historical high. Insurance, brokerages, non-ferrous metals, and lab-grown diamonds anchored the rally.

 

Combined turnover across the Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Beijing exchanges totaled RMB 3.76 trillion, logging the second-highest single-day volume in market history. Market breadth was solidly positive with nearly 2,500 advancing equities as risk appetite staged a sharp recovery.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong benchmarks closed broadly lower. The Hang Seng Index slipped 0.65% to 23,768.52; the Hang Seng Tech Index shed 1.19% to 4,549.41; and the H-Shares Index fell 0.77% to 7,914.74. Growth heavyweights Xiaomi, Meitu, and Geely Auto dominated the laggards.

 

Conversely, Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable surged 31.31%, MiniMax (MiniMax-W) gained 23.89%, and Zhipu AI climbed 15.09%, delivering strong counter-cyclical upside. Capital markets and containers & packaging led sector gains, while home furnishings and automotive underperformed.

Japan & South Korea

Japan: The Nikkei 225 surged 1.55% to close at an unprecedented historical high of 72,353.96, logging its sixth consecutive winning session.

 

AI infrastructure, semiconductors, and memory silicon proxies extended their secular rally. Tech heavyweights Tokyo Electron and Kioxia posted strong gains, with financials and consumer sectors tracking mildly higher on sustained long positioning.

 

South Korea: The KOSPI Index rose 0.69% to finish at a record-breaking 9,114.55. The memory silicon complex delivered standout performance, highlighted by SK Hynix briefly eclipsing Samsung Electronics to become South Korea's most valuable corporate entity.

 

Advanced semiconductor foundries, automakers, and biopharma names marched higher alongside broader growth buckets.

Australia & Southeast Asia

Australia: The S&P/ASX 200 Index (.XJO) ticked down a minor 0.08% to close at 8,821.60. Energy and healthcare proxies led the downside, while mining and industrial names offered structural defense. Utilities and consumer staples consolidated in a tight band.

 

Singapore: The Straits Times Index (.STI) edged up 0.20% to close at 5,204.01. Local tier-1 banks and industrial heavyweights provided upward momentum, insulating the benchmark from persistent weakness across the telecommunications and real estate complexes.

 

Malaysia: The FBM KLCI shot up 1.70% to settle at 1,700.84. Technology and AI chip components sustained high trading volumes, while a rebound in plantations and petrochemicals lifted the broader index despite fragmented performance among major banking names.

Key Global & Macro Dispatches

Regulatory Backlash: South Korea Explores Restrictions on Leveraged Single-Stock ETFs Tracking Samsung and SK Hynix

As retail euphoria around artificial intelligence fuels massive volume spikes in structured products, South Korean regulatory authorities are drawing up measures to contain systemic risk in single-stock leveraged ETFs tracking Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

 

Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Governor Lee Chan-jin confirmed on Monday that officials are collaborating with the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the Korea Exchange to monitor volatility risks. "With the middle and working classes comprising the vast majority of participants, heightened market volatility could pose significant shocks to household balance sheets," Lee noted.

 

Macro Shockwaves: Goldman Sachs Warns of Supply Contamination and Impending Food Crisis Across Southeast Asia

Despite early-stage geopolitical de-escalation in Switzerland—where Washington and Tehran reached an interim agreement to re-open the Strait of Hormuz—the downstream systemic shocks of the Middle East conflict continue to rattle global supply chains.

 

According to a Goldman Sachs strategy brief, elevated crude and fertilizer input costs, coupled with an impending, severe El Niño weather pattern slated for late 2026, leave Southeast Asian emerging markets uniquely exposed to a severe agricultural and food supply shock over the coming months.

 

Silicon Dominance: South Korean Export Engine Extends Surge, Fueled by a 190% Explosion in Semiconductor Shipments

South Korea’s preliminary customs data showed custom-cleared export values for the first 20 days of June expanding 60.4% year-over-year to $61.99 billion. The data underscores that South Korea remains a primary macro beneficiary of global generative AI capital expenditure.

 

The dominant engine behind the trade surplus was concentrated in the semiconductor vertical, where advanced silicon component exports surged nearly 190% against the prior-year period.

Institutional Views

Goldman Sachs: Year-End Gold Target Trimmed to $4,900 as Easing Baseline Moves to 2027

 

Goldman Sachs commodity strategists Lina Thomas and Daan Struyven removed all projected Federal Reserve interest rate cuts from their 2026 macroeconomic baseline, subsequently lowering their December gold target by $500 to $4,900/oz. "While we remain structurally constructive on the precious metals complex over the medium-to-long term, we adopt a tactically cautious stance near term," the analysts noted.

 

The forecast adjustment comes as Goldman economists pushed out their projected liftoff for US rate cuts to June and December of next year. The firm added that following an unexpectedly hawkish debut FOMC meeting under Chair Warsh, immediate tail risks regarding central bank independence have visibly abated.

 

Goldman Sachs: Central Bank Bullion Accumulation Rules Out Near-Term Floor Breakdown

 

Despite modeling a modest deceleration in sovereign purchases—forecasting central bank accumulation to cool to 50 tons per month in 2026 and 40 tons in 2027—Goldman Sachs emphasizes that steady institutional demand will provide a structural floor for spot gold.

 

This baseline is supported by an independent World Gold Council survey conducted between February and May across 76 central banks, which revealed a record 45% of monetary authorities intend to expand sovereign bullion allocations over the next 12 months. Furthermore, 90% of respondents expect global central bank gold reserves to systematically expand, with zero institutional participants modeling a contraction.

 

OCBC: JPY Structural Financing Role Hinges Entirely on a Definitive Hawkish Pivot from the BOJ

 

FX strategists Sim Moh Siong and Christopher Wong noted in a global macro brief that while direct currency intervention risks from Japan's Ministry of Finance remain elevated, unilateral state buying is fundamentally insufficient to reverse current yen weakness.

 

For the Japanese yen to successfully transition from a standard global funding/carry currency into an investment asset, the Bank of Japan must offer a clean, unhedged hawkish policy commitment.

 

Despite aggressive April intervention operations, USD/JPY continues to trade comfortably above the 160 threshold, prompting Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama to reiterate on Monday that the MoF stands ready to deploy appropriate liquidity measures as required.