Asian stocks mixed while oil halts losing streak

Asian equities are ending the week on a tepid note, with oil remaining below $43 a barrel, after a series of Federal Reserve speakers did little to alter projections for the path of US interest-rate increases.

Chinese companies trading in Hong Kong advanced while stocks in Japan fluctuated within a narrow range. Chinese equities remain in the limelight as the nation’s banking watchdog raises scrutiny on some of the biggest deal makers.

Crude halted a losing streak after tumbling into a bear market, but concerns of a

supply glut persisted, helping gold to continue climbing back from a one-month low.

Global equities, helped by a rebound in tech shares, have been resilient this week in the face of investor concerns about a policy misstep from the Fed and a rout in the oil market that extended for a fifth week. With concern that inflation is lagging expectations and the US economy isn’t quite as rosy as Fed Chair Janet Yellen has pictured, the market is gauging the odds for one more interest-rate hike this year.

"The market is taking a pause at a relatively high level," said Hao Hong, chief strategist at Bocom International Holdings in Hong Kong. "Investors need to watch for signs of economic slowdown and see whether the Fed will adamantly carry on rate hikes."

China stocks are closing out a rocky week. They got a boost from MSCI's decision to include domestic shares in its indexes, but regulatory surprises created upheaval.

Shares slumped on news that the government had stepped up scrutiny of the nation’s most active overseas acquirers. Then, China’s broadcasting regulator ordered Weibo and two other internet media firms to halt video and audio webcasting, accusing them of operating without a license and disseminating opinions potentially harmful to social stability.

Here are some upcoming events investors are watching:

James Bullard, Loretta Mester and Jerome Powell cap a busy week for speeches from Fed policy makers. Bullard told the Wall Street Journal the rate trajectory the FOMC has laid out seems "unnecessarily aggressive" and the balance-sheet unwind should start sooner rather than later.

Friday’s session in the US will probably be one of the busiest of the year for equity traders as the annual Russell reshuffle is set to take effect.

The FTSE Russell’s rebalancing of stock indexes reliably boosts trading, though it rarely triggers big price swings in the market.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May will make a statement to the British parliament on Monday when details of her proposal to safeguard the residency rights of European citizen who currently live in the UK will be published by the government.  

Here are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

Japan’s Topix rose less than 0.1% as of 1:22 in Tokyo. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index was flat and South Korea’s Kospi index added 0.1%. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of mainland firms trading in Hong Kong added 0.3%.  

The Hang Seng Index rose less than 0.1%, while the Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.7%.

Futures on the S&P 500 Index rose 0.1%. The underlying gauge fell less than 0.1% on Thursday. Health-care shares in the index jumped 1.1%.

Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude added 0.4% to $42.89 a barrel. Oil rose 0.5% on Thursday, stabilizing after falling into a bear market earlier in the week. Investors remain focused on brimming supplies that work against Opec-led efforts to reduce a glut.

Gold rose 0.1% to $1 251.95 an ounce, for a third day of gains.  

Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed. The yen was flat at 111.33 per dollar. The pound rose 0.2% to $1.2704 on the one-year anniversary of the historic Brexit vote. The euro rose 0.1% to $1.1163.

Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose less than one basis point to 2.16%. Australian 10-year yields were little changed at 2.38%.