published Nov 19, 2018, 5:37:42 PM, by Andreea Papuc
(Bloomberg) —

Stocks in Asia are poised to decline Tuesday after weakness in some of the biggest technology companies sent U.S. stocks tumbling, adding to pessimism about escalating trade tensions. The yen advanced while the dollar and Treasuries were little changed.

Futures signaled losses across the region after software developers and semiconductor manufacturers led the S&P 500 Index lower. Australian shares fell at the open. The Nasdaq 100 Index plunged more than 3 percent to the lowest since April on renewed concern the trade war will hurt global demand and disrupt supply chains for the major technology companies that have carried the bull market for almost 10 years. Europe’s Stoxx 600 Index fell following a plunge in Renault SA on misconduct allegations against the carmaker’s leader, Carlos Ghosn.

Investors are reassessing their expectations after several weeks of volatility spurred by fears of an escalation of the trade conflict and a slowing global economy. Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund firm, said that investors should expect low returns for a long time after years of low interest rates and quantitative easing have squeezed most of the returns out of assets in the U.S. Meanwhile, optimism that relations between the U.S. and China would improve at Group-of-20 meetings starting next week, dissipated.

“It feels once again that markets are craving certainty on a number of issues before we can see a return of trending markets,” said Nick Twidale, chief operating officer at Rakuten Securities Australia, in a note to clients. “Unfortunately at the moment it looks like we set for more volatility before this can come about.”

Elsewhere, the pound fluctuated as U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May appealed to business leaders to help deliver her Brexit deal, and Gibraltar emerged as a fresh sticking point. Bitcoin fell below $5,000 for the first time since October 2017. Crude rose past $57 a barrel.

Coming Up

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney appears before parliament on Tuesday. It’s a shortened trading week because of the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S. on Thursday. In addition, Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, marks the traditional start to the U.S. holiday shopping season.

These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

Futures on the Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 1.3 percent in Singapore. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 0.3 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index futures declined 1.2 percent. S&P 500 futures were little changed. The S&P 500 sank 1.7 percent, while the Nasdaq 100 plunged 3.3 percent.

Currencies

The Japanese yen rose 0.1 percent to 112.47 per dollar. The offshore yuan was steady at 6.9341 per dollar. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index ended Monday little changed. The euro traded at $1.1456. The British pound added 0.1 percent to $1.2864.

Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries held at 3.06 percent.

Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 1.1 percent to $57.38 a barrel. Gold was little changed at $1,223.94. The Bloomberg Commodity Index gained 1.1 percent.

–With assistance from Vildana Hajric and Sarah Ponczek.To contact the reporter on this story: Andreea Papuc in Sydney at apapuc1@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Christopher Anstey at canstey@bloomberg.net Cormac Mullen
COPYRIGHT
© 2018 Bloomberg L.P