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Asian stocks struggled for direction after the recent rally as investors assessed the latest developments on the Trump administration’s trade policies. The dollar and Treasury yields stabilized after gains.
Equities climbed in Japan and Australia, while Hong Kong shares were choppy and Chinese stocks slipped. Earlier, the S&P 500 Index fluctuated throughout its session, rising past 2 900 for the first time before slipping back below that level. Rate-sensitive shares retreated as the 10-year Treasury yield moved toward 2.90%. The Canadian dollar advanced on a report the country was ready to make concessions on its dairy market to be included in any North American trade deal.
Gains for equities are being tested after US stocks hit a fresh all-time high and Chinese shares rebounded off this month’s lows amid signs of central bank support. Appetite for risk assets remain fragile as hopes for a trade breakthrough between America and China are questioned.
“We don’t know where China is on this,” David Ader, chief market strategist at Informa Financial Intelligence, said on Bloomberg Television. “I tend to be more pessimistic that we are going to come away with trade deals that are going to make everybody satisfied, but we are trading headlines, we are trading the sensitivity to those headlines, so for the moment it looks good.”
Here are some key events coming up this week:
Earnings are due from companies including Pernod Ricard and Dollar General. China’s official factory PMI are due on Friday. The US economy probably grew in the second quarter at a slightly slower pace, economists predict ahead of Wednesday’s report. The Bank of Korea sets policy on Friday. Weak jobs growth has cooled speculation of an interest-rate increase.
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
Japan’s Topix index rose 0.7% at 13:29 in Tokyo. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.2%. The Shanghai Composite slid 0.4%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.4%. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.2% S&P 500 futures gained 0.2%. The S&P 500 rose less than 1% point to a record 2 897.52.
Currencies
The yen was little changed at 111.23/$. The offshore yuan traded at 6.8063/$. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index ticked lower. The euro was little changed at $1.1694.
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries slipped less than one basis point to 2.87% after rising three basis points on Tuesday. Australia’s 10-year bond yield climbed two basis points to 2.58%.
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude was little changed at $68.55 a barrel. Gold rose 0.3% to $1 204.25 an ounce.
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