Asia shares welcome China back, ready for rate hikes

Earnings from a who's who of tech giants will also test the mettle of Wall Street bulls, who are looking to propel the Nasdaq to its best January since 2001. Asia has been no slouch either as China's swift reopening bolsters the economic outlook, with MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan up 11% in January so far at a nine-month high. Beijing reported Lunar New Year travel trips inside China surged 74% from last year, though that was still only half of pre-pandemic levels.