Asian Stock Market: All set to end 2022 on a positive note despite challenges from China

• Asia-Pacific equities fail to justify market’s fears of Covid, Russia-Ukraine tussles amid year-end inaction.
• Softer US data weighs on hawkish Fed bets, allowing shares buyers to keep the reins.
• Hopes of easy rates in 2023, economic recovery keep stocks on the bull’s desk amid sluggish yields.

Asian stocks grind higher as traders brace for a positive close to the volatile 2022 during the last trading of the year. While portraying the mood, the MSCI’s index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rises nearly half a percent whereas Japan’s Nikkei 225 remains sluggish by the press time.

On a broader front, US 10-year Treasury yields fade the previous day’s pullback from the six-week high and take rounds to 3.83% whereas the S&P 500 Futures print mild losses around 3,865 despite Wall Street’s positive closing.