AUD: A$ Outperforms Ahead Of US Trade Deal Announcement

China’s banks face additional loan demand and net interest margin pressure after the U.S. imposed reciprocal tariffs, said Dai Zhifeng, director at the Zhongtai Securities Research Institute, adding that asset quality was expected to remain stable. Banks with higher foreign trade exposure will be hit more significantly than those with a high proportion of retail customers, Yicai news agency reported, noting that more than half of banking stocks fell on April 7 by more than 5%.

China’s foreign exchange reserves reached USD3.24 trillion at the end of March, up 0.42% from February, Securities Daily reported. Looking ahead, reserves are expected to remain stable and help maintain the Yuan at a reasonable and balanced level, despite potential external shocks, according to Wang Qing, chief macro analyst at Orient Securities. The nation’s central bank added 90,000 ounces of gold to reserves in March, the fifth consecutive month of increases, Pang Ming, a senior researcher at the National Finance and Development Laboratory noted, adding that the precious metal has advantages in hedging inflation with long-term value.

China’s A-share market could first decline before rising in late April, Yicai.com reported, citing analysts from China Merchants Securities. The market may rebound in late April if the Politburo signals quicker fiscal spending or additional pro-growth policies, along the ending of firm’s performance disclosure window and easing external shocks, the analysts said. Two state-owned companies, China Guoxing Holdings and China Chengtong Holdings said their financial subsidiaries have increased holdings of central government-owned enterprises, technology-related and ETF stocks, after Central Huijin Investment, a state-owned investment institution, announced additional purchases of ETFs to stabilise the market on Monday.