Asia Stocks Set to Follow U.S. Rally; Bonds Slide: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) —
Stocks in Asia are set to climb after beaten-down tech shares led the strongest session for U.S. stocks in two weeks. The dollar held gains as President Donald Trump discussed plans for further China tariff increases in the absence of a trade deal.
Futures pointed to higher opens in Japan and Hong Kong, though U.S. contracts edged lower. Apple Inc. suppliers will be closely watched after Trump said the company’s iPhones could be hit by new tariffs. Australian shares started trading firmer. Earlier, the S&P 500 Index recovered from the worst week in a month as investors speculated a strong start to the holiday season will keep U.S. economic growth on track. Treasuries slipped and West Texas crude rose above $51 a barrel, recouping some of its more than 7 percent slide Friday.
Positive political developments in Europe and rising oil prices added to optimism, sending the 10-year Treasury yield higher ahead of a slew of Federal Reserve speakers this week, including Chairman Jerome Powell. Powell’s speech on Wednesday will be parsed for any hints on the prospects for a pause in the path of rate increases after traders reduced expectations for the pace of U.S. monetary policy tightening.
Trade remains firmly in investors’ minds ahead of the upcoming Group-of-20 meeting between Presidents Xi Jinping and Trump, who said he’ll likely push forward with plans to increase tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal published Monday. Trump indicated he would also slap duties on all remaining imports from the Asian nation if negotiations with his Chinese counterpart fail to produce a trade deal.
Elsewhere, Italy’s bonds jumped as state officials began studying scenarios for a lower 2019 budget deficit target, while European shares rose after EU leaders signed off over the weekend on the proposed Brexit plan. Bitcoin extended its recent tumble to below $4,000 as cryptocurrencies fell across the board.
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Coming Up
Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping plan to meet at the G-20 summit in Argentina that kicks off on Friday. Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Richard Clarida speaks in New York on Tuesday and Powell addresses the New York Economic Club on Wednesday. Thursday sees the release of the minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee’s November meeting.These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
Futures on the Nikkei 225 Stock Average were up about 1 percent in Singapore. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed 0.7 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index futures rose 0.2 percent. S&P 500 futures fell 0.3 percent. The S&P 500 Index gained 1.6 percent. The Nasdaq 100 advanced 2.3 percent. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 1.2 percent. The MSCI All-Country World Index climbed 1.1 percent.
Currencies
The Japanese yen was at 113.55 per dollar after dipping 0.6 percent. The offshore yuan traded at 6.9514 per dollar. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2 percent. The euro was at $1.1331. The British pound was little changed at $1.2812, down 0.1 percent.
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries gained one basis point to 3.05 percent, its first advance in more than two weeks. Australia’s 10-year bond yield was steady at 2.63 percent. Italy’s 10-year yield fell 14 basis points to 3.269 percent, the lowest in almost two months.
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude was little changed at $51.60 a barrel after jumping 2.4 percent. Gold was steady at $1,222.57 an ounce.
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