Asia-Pacific markets, Wall Street, industrial output, Hong Kong eases

The Bank of Japan announced two rounds of unscheduled purchases of Japanese government bonds in attempt to contain upward pressure in yields, according to a notice.

The central bank offered to buy unlimited amounts of two- and five-year notes at a fixed rate – and another offer to buy 600 billion yen ($4.5 billion) of one-to-10 year bonds, it said.

This is in addition to its latest announcement to purchase JGBs every business day at a rate of 0.5% starting Dec. 20.

The 10-year JGB yield was last 0.22% lower to stand at 0.465%. Bond yields move inversely to prices.

The central bank last week widened its band of yield curve tolerance for 10-year JGBs to 0.5% of either side of its 0% target from the previous range of 0.25%.

—Lee Ying Shan

South Korea’s November retail sales fell 1.8% on an annualized basis, declining further after seeing a 0.2% drop in October, government data showed.

Meanwhile, its industrial production inched up 0.4% for the month, slightly recovering after seeing four straight months of declines previously.

South Korea is expected to release its consumer price index on Friday, in which economists polled by Reuters are expecting to see further cooled inflation of 5%.

– Jihye Lee

Oil prices dipped marginally as China continues to see a rising number of Covid cases as well as a strain in medical resources fizzle optimism in the nation’s reopening and fuel demand outlook.

Brent crude futures shed 0.46% to stand at $82.88 per barrel. Similarly, the U.S. West Texas Intermediate dropped 0.49% to $78.58 per barrel.

“Even the China re-opening narrative may be hobbled by record Covid breakout in China,” Mizuho Bank’s Vishnu Varathan wrote in a note, adding that its reopening should also not be mistaken for an “enduring immunity” from global recession risks.

—Lee Ying Shan

Italy will require all inbound travelers from China to undergo Covid tests, Reuters reports its health minister as saying, after authorities in Milan reported that almost 50% of passengers on two flights from China tested positive.

It has not been specified what measures would be imposed on arrivals who test positive, Reuters reported.

Separately, the UK is considering following suit after the U.S. announced mandatory testing on arrivals from China, the Telegraph reported.

—Lee Ying Shan

It’s been a bad year for tech companies, and many investors have been wondering when tech stocks will rebound.

Tech fund manager Jeremy Gleeson of AXA Investment Managers told CNBC Pro Talks last week that he still believes in the sector.

He explains why and names the stocks to…