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11-12-2019, 10:38 PM
Stocks Retreat as Investors Mull Trade, Hong Kong: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks fell Wednesday as investors continued to weigh the likelihood of a partial U.S.-China trade deal as well as unrest in Hong Kong. The kiwi jumped after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand unexpectedly kept interest rates unchanged.Hong Kong’s benchmark declined as much as 2% as the city faced a third-straight day of heightened tensions. Japanese shares retreated along with those in South Korea, while early gains for Australian shares fizzled. S&P 500 futures slipped after the U.S. equities gauge closed just shy of its all-time high. President Donald Trump didn’t add much insight on U.S.-China trade talks Tuesday: he said a deal could happen soon, but warned of tariff hikes without an agreement. Ten-year Treasury yields edged lower to 1.92%, while the dollar retained an overnight advance.With major central banks thought to be on hold and the earnings season winding down, investor focus has turned firmly to trade and the timing of a phase-one deal between the world’s two largest economies. Also in focus will be prospects for Federal Reserve policy, with Chairman Jerome Powell addressing Congress on Wednesday.“We think that the Asian equity outlook will remain quite volatile,” Raymond Cheng, JPMorgan Private Bank head of Asia equity research, said on Bloomberg TV. “We have a mixed view depending on which countries have more fiscal capacity to really weather this kind of storm.” JPMorgan Private Bank likes India, China, Taiwan and Korea. Meanwhile, the New Zealand dollar surged after the RBNZ kept its key interest rate at 1.00%, though pledged to add further monetary stimulus if needed. Sixteen of 21 economists in a Bloomberg survey had expected the Reserve Bank to cut the official cash rate.Elsewhere, gold edged higher and crude oil retreated.Here are some key events coming up this week:Earnings season is slowing. Reports are due this week from companies including Tencent, Japan Post Bank, Walmart, Cisco and Mitsubishi UFJ.Fed Chairman Jerome Powell addresses the Joint Economic Committee of Congress in Washington Wednesday.Thursday brings China retail sales and industrial production data.U.S. retail sales on Friday are forecast to rebound in October after unexpectedly falling the prior month.These are the main moves in markets:StocksThe MSCI Asia Pacific index fell 0.7% as of 1:01 p.m. in Tokyo.Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.8%.Japan’s Topix index fell 0.5%.South Korea’s Kospi index declined 0.9%.Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index slid 0.5%.Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.2%.Futures on the S&P 500 fell 0.3%. The underlying gauge rose 0.2% Tuesday.CurrenciesThe yen traded at 109.04 per dollar, little changed. The offshore yuan was flat at 7.0239 per dollar.The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed.The euro bought $1.1013.The kiwi rose 1% to $0.6393.BondsThe yield on 10-year Treasuries slipped one basis point to 1.92%.Australia’s 10-year yield fell one basis point to 1.27%.CommoditiesGold rose 0.2% to $1,458.88 an ounce.West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.2% to $56.69 a barrel.To contact the reporter on this story: Andreea Papuc in Sydney at apapuc1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Christopher Anstey at canstey@bloomberg.net, Joanna OssingerFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/asian-stocks-eye-mixed-open-231411789.html?.tsrc=rss
(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks fell Wednesday as investors continued to weigh the likelihood of a partial U.S.-China trade deal as well as unrest in Hong Kong. The kiwi jumped after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand unexpectedly kept interest rates unchanged.Hong Kong’s benchmark declined as much as 2% as the city faced a third-straight day of heightened tensions. Japanese shares retreated along with those in South Korea, while early gains for Australian shares fizzled. S&P 500 futures slipped after the U.S. equities gauge closed just shy of its all-time high. President Donald Trump didn’t add much insight on U.S.-China trade talks Tuesday: he said a deal could happen soon, but warned of tariff hikes without an agreement. Ten-year Treasury yields edged lower to 1.92%, while the dollar retained an overnight advance.With major central banks thought to be on hold and the earnings season winding down, investor focus has turned firmly to trade and the timing of a phase-one deal between the world’s two largest economies. Also in focus will be prospects for Federal Reserve policy, with Chairman Jerome Powell addressing Congress on Wednesday.“We think that the Asian equity outlook will remain quite volatile,” Raymond Cheng, JPMorgan Private Bank head of Asia equity research, said on Bloomberg TV. “We have a mixed view depending on which countries have more fiscal capacity to really weather this kind of storm.” JPMorgan Private Bank likes India, China, Taiwan and Korea. Meanwhile, the New Zealand dollar surged after the RBNZ kept its key interest rate at 1.00%, though pledged to add further monetary stimulus if needed. Sixteen of 21 economists in a Bloomberg survey had expected the Reserve Bank to cut the official cash rate.Elsewhere, gold edged higher and crude oil retreated.Here are some key events coming up this week:Earnings season is slowing. Reports are due this week from companies including Tencent, Japan Post Bank, Walmart, Cisco and Mitsubishi UFJ.Fed Chairman Jerome Powell addresses the Joint Economic Committee of Congress in Washington Wednesday.Thursday brings China retail sales and industrial production data.U.S. retail sales on Friday are forecast to rebound in October after unexpectedly falling the prior month.These are the main moves in markets:StocksThe MSCI Asia Pacific index fell 0.7% as of 1:01 p.m. in Tokyo.Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.8%.Japan’s Topix index fell 0.5%.South Korea’s Kospi index declined 0.9%.Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index slid 0.5%.Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.2%.Futures on the S&P 500 fell 0.3%. The underlying gauge rose 0.2% Tuesday.CurrenciesThe yen traded at 109.04 per dollar, little changed. The offshore yuan was flat at 7.0239 per dollar.The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed.The euro bought $1.1013.The kiwi rose 1% to $0.6393.BondsThe yield on 10-year Treasuries slipped one basis point to 1.92%.Australia’s 10-year yield fell one basis point to 1.27%.CommoditiesGold rose 0.2% to $1,458.88 an ounce.West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.2% to $56.69 a barrel.To contact the reporter on this story: Andreea Papuc in Sydney at apapuc1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Christopher Anstey at canstey@bloomberg.net, Joanna OssingerFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/asian-stocks-eye-mixed-open-231411789.html?.tsrc=rss