Best Week in Years for Asia ex-Japan as Nikkei and Hong Kong Lead

Asian equity markets just logged one of their strongest weeks since the pandemic, with broad indices in the region outperforming US and European peers.
The MSCI Asia Pacific ex‑Japan index rose 0.9% on Friday and 7.3% for the week, its biggest weekly gain since November 2022, driven by a powerful rebound in Chinese growth stocks and solid gains across North Asia.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 7.5% over the week, its second consecutive week of outsized gains, and now sits within sight of all-time highs, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng continued a sharp relief rally as Middle East ceasefire hopes eased oil and geopolitical fears.

Regional Benchmarks: Asia ex‑Japan Outperforms on Breadth

The rally has been broad‑based across Asia.
Investing.com data show the MSCI Asia ex‑Japan benchmark climbing from around the mid‑750s at the end of March to the high‑780s/low‑790s by 2 April, with the weekly 7.3% surge highlighted by Futu described as the best in more than three years.
Singapore Exchange commentary on February’s record Asia‑Pacific performance — a 6.3% monthly gain in the broader MSCI Asia‑Pacific index, the strongest February since 1998 — now looks less like an outlier and more like the start of a sustained momentum phase into April.

Saxo’s Asia “Quick Take” for 14 April notes that the MSCI Asia‑Pacific index jumped another 0.8% at the open on Friday, with technology and financials leading sector gains.
That move followed a strong US close and growing optimism that US–Iran ceasefire steps would cap energy price risk and support risk assets globally.

Japan: Nikkei Extends Breakout Toward New Highs

Japan remains the standout chart in the global equity complex.
Trend‑following analysis from early April records the Nikkei 225 gaining 7.49% this week, after an equally strong advance the week before, making it the top‑performing equity index in a 49‑market trend‑following universe and building what systematic managers describe as a “medium‑term positive trend structure” on weekly charts.
Yahoo Finance data show the Nikkei closing at 56,265.77 on 10 April and pushing through 58,000 by mid‑April, with recent levels around 58,265–58,586 as the index approaches its 59,890–60,075 record‑high zone.

MarketPulse notes that this 18% rally off the 31 March low in Nikkei futures has been fuelled by two forces: improving US–Iran ceasefire prospects that have reduced global tail risk and a bullish steepening in Japan’s yield curve, historically associated with stronger equity performance.
Futu’s Asia wrap adds that domestic factors are also helping: Fast Retailing (Uniqlo’s parent) hit a record high after stronger‑than‑expected profit growth, lifting the Nikkei 1.8% in a single session.
For global allocators, Japan is once again the highest‑conviction long among major equity indices in many rule‑based models.

China and Hong Kong: Relief Rally but Diverging Signals

Greater China has been a major contributor to the week’s Asia gains, but with important nuance between offshore and onshore markets.

In Hong Kong, trading data point to a powerful relief move.
TradingEconomics reports the Hang Seng Index climbing 0.3% to 25,947 on Wednesday and another 0.9% to 26,160 on Thursday, extending its rally to three straight sessions as investors tracked Wall Street’s rebound and welcomed signs of progress on a US–Iran ceasefire.
Local reports highlight that the index had already surged 3.09% on 8 April, adding 776 points to close at 25,893 after the initial ceasefire announcement, marking a sharp reversal from the prior risk‑off stretch.
Prediction‑market data show traders leaning bullish for the end of this week, with a Polymarket contract on whether the Hang Seng would finish Friday higher than Thursday’s close skewed toward "up".

Onshore Chinese equities have been more subdued.
TradingEconomics data show the CSI 300 slipping to around 4,606 points in early March — its lowest since February — and hovering near that area in April, leaving the index down about 1.9% over the past four weeks but still up around 18–23% over the past 12 months, depending on the exact look-back window.
That pattern suggests China is in a consolidation phase after a strong earlier rebound, with domestic sentiment still cautious even as regional peers push higher.

Within China, growth‑heavy indices outperformed this week: the ChiNext board, which concentrates high‑growth and tech names, jumped 3.8%, according to Futu’s Asia wrap, leading the region on the day and underscoring lingering speculative appetite in selected pockets of the market.

Broader Asia: Korea, Taiwan, ASEAN Join the risk‑on rotation.

While detailed weekly numbers for every market are still filtering through, the regional pattern is clear in aggregate measures.
MSCI fact sheets and MarketScreener data on variants of the AC Asia ex‑Japan index show current‑month gains in the low‑teens percentages for some strategies (around 13–14%) and roughly 20% year‑to‑date, reflecting strong contributions from North Asian tech exporters and selected ASEAN markets.
Saxo’s 14 April note points to broad‑based strength at the open across Asia‑Pacific, with financials and technology leading and bourses in Hong Kong and Singapore among the beneficiaries of improved global risk appetite.

SGX’s February review highlighted an 11% return for an Asia ex‑Japan ex‑China ETF, supported by “broad‑based strength” across key regional markets rather than a narrow leadership profile.
The latest week’s 7.3% move in the core Asia ex‑Japan benchmark fits that narrative of breadth, suggesting global investors are again treating the region as a diversified growth basket rather than a high‑beta satellite to US tech alone.

What This Week Means for Investors

The week’s action leaves Asia as the outperforming leg of global equities heading into late April.
Key takeaways from the move:

• Relative strength is shifting east: With the Nikkei at the top of many trend‑following rankings and MSCI Asia ex‑Japan posting its best weekly performance since 2022, Asia has reclaimed performance leadership versus the US and Europe in recent weeks.

• Relief, not resolution, in China-linked risk: Hong Kong’s sharp rally is tied closely to easing Middle East tensions and global risk-on, while onshore China’s CSI 300 remains range-bound, signalling ongoing caution around China’s domestic growth story even as valuations and policy support attract tactical flows.

• Breadth matters: Indices and ETFs tracking Asia ex‑Japan are being lifted by gains spanning Japan, Korea/Taiwan tech, Hong Kong and select ASEAN markets, rather than a single narrow theme.

The key test in the coming weeks will be whether this performance holds as a new trend — supported by earnings and macro data — or fades back into another short‑lived relief rally.
For that, investors will be watching Japanese earnings and policy guidance, Chinese growth signals and policy headlines, and any fresh developments on the US–Iran ceasefire that has underpinned much of the latest risk repricing.