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(Bloomberg) — The euro held losses amid concern Greece won’t be able to strike a bailout deal, while New Zealand’s dollar traded near an almost two-month low. Asian stock-index futures were mixed after U.S. shares retreated with Treasuries.
The 19-nation currency was at $1.1142 by 8:52 a.m. in Tokyo after a three-day slump. The kiwi was close to its weakest level since March 18 versus the dollar. U.S. oil traded at $59.20 a barrel following Monday’s 0.2 percent drop, as copper futures rose 0.3 percent. Japanese index futures fell 0.2 percent in the pre-market, while contracts on Chinese shares climbed. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures were little changed after the benchmark U.S. gauge slipped 0.5 percent. The three-week global selloff in sovereign debt has gathered pace, with 10-year U.S. Treasury yields surging the most since March 6 amid an advance in European bond rates. Greece must repay about 750 million euros ($837 million) to the International Monetary Fund Tuesday, with the country trying to strike a deal to win the final installments of its aid program. China releases a raft of data Wednesday, after announcing a rate cut Sunday to try and reinvigorate Asia’s biggest economy.“There’s a lack of factors to give us direction,” Toshihiko Matsuno, chief strategist at SMBC Friend Securities Co. in Tokyo said by phone. “The situation in Greece still remains a negative factor, and there’s still fear over the risk that yields will continue to rise.”

Asian Futures

Nikkei 225 Stock Average futures were bid for 19,610 in the Osaka pre-market, down from 19,640 at their close in Japan Monday. Contracts traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange were down 0.1 percent following a 0.3 percent drop Monday. Futures on the Kospi index in Seoul also little changed in most recent trading, and contracts on Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index were down 0.1 percent. Futures on the FTSE China A50 Index traded in Singapore climbed 0.2 percent following a 3 percent jump in Shanghai shares Monday after China cut borrowing costs for the third time in six months. Futures on the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index in Hong Kong, a gauge of mainland equities listed in the city, added 0.1 percent. The Bloomberg China-US Equity Index of Chinese stocks traded in New York gained 0.5 percent Monday.

China Outlook

China is due to report on retail sales for April as well as industrial output Wednesday. Data on lending, money supply and financing could land any time through May 15. The People’s Bank of China lowered the one-year lending rate and the one-year deposit rate by 0.25 percentage point Monday as it ratcheted up support for an economy growing at its slowest pace since 2009.
“The reduction in interest rates will be a further positive for internal consumption and the reaction in the Shanghai Composite suggests investors see the same thing,” Evan Lucas, a markets strategist in Melbourne at IG Ltd., wrote in an e-mail to clients. “The PBOC is likely to move again to support internal growth.” The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, which tracks the greenback against 10 major peers, was little changed after climbing 0.4 percent on Monday. Yields on 10-year Treasury notes jumped 13 basis points, or 0.13 percentage point, last session to 2.28 percent, the biggest advance since March 6.U.S. policy makers could raise key rates at any meeting, depending on economic data, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President John Williams reiterated on CNBC Monday. The next major report is April retail sales on Wednesday, when the U.S. will auction $64 billion in coupon-bearing debt.

Euro Losses

The drop in Treasuries was also propelled by the ongoing slump in bonds from Germany and other euro-region nations. Spain’s 10-year bond yield rose eight basis points to 1.75 percent Monday, and German 10-year bund yields increased six basis points to 0.61 percent.
The euro has lost 1.7 percent the past three trading days, with regional finance ministers meeting Monday over the issue of aid to Greece. Officials indicated Greece needs to do more before funds can be released, even as the meeting’s chairman, Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, said “we are making faster progress.”
Greece persuaded a German-led bloc of creditors that it is serious about delivering the tight budget policies needed to escape a default. A transfer order for the IMF repayment was put in Monday, two Greek officials said. The European Central Bank will reassess the emergency liquidity lines keeping the Greek banking system in business Wednesday.
The kiwi was little changed at 73.41 U.S. cents Tuesday and traded near its weakest level since January against the Australian dollar. Australia & New Zealand Banking Group joined six other banks in predicting the Reserve Bank of New Zealand will cut interest rates this year. Policy makers in Australia have already reduced benchmark borrowing costs twice in 2015.
One-month non-deliverable forwards on the Indian rupee dropped 0.2 percent in early Tuesday trading. Growth in industrial production probably slowed to 3 percent in March, while inflation eased to 4.9 percent in April, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg before Tuesday’s data.

To contact the reporters on this story: Emma O’Brien in Wellington at eobrien6@bloomberg.net; Yuko Takeo in Tokyo at ytakeo2@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Emma O’Brien at eobrien6@bloomberg.net John McCluskey