Stocks Climb, Yen Slips on China Speculation: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks extended gains and U.S. futures advanced along with those in Europe after an influential newspaper editor said China will implement measures to ease the impact of the trade war. The Treasury sell-off eased.Volumes were strong in Tokyo and Hong Kong, driven also in part by a continued rotation into sectors and countries that have lagged behind this year. China separately released a list of items approved for tariff exemptions that did not include corn, soybeans and pork, as some had expected. Chinese stocks edged down, though shares of brokerages climbed earlier after the country removed a foreign investment limit in its capital markets. The Australian dollar rose, though the nation’s bonds fell, catching up with the overnight move in Treasuries.Measures will be taken by China to ease the negative impact of the trade war, and will benefit some companies from China and U.S., Global Times editor Hu Xijin says in Twitter post.With investors awaiting the European Central Bank’s policy decision on Thursday and the Federal Reserve’s next week, some are dialing back expectations for more aggressive central bank accommodation. That bond sell-off showed signs of easing on Wednesday after Treasury yields reached a one-month high, having rallied off a three-year low reached this earlier this month.“We are primed for a little bit of disappointment,” Jeff Boswell, a fund manager at Investec Asset Management, told Bloomberg TV in Singapore. “On the QE front, whilst we’ve been expectant of something -- certainly on the corporate bond buying side that the market’s been expecting -- it is unlikely to come tomorrow.”Elsewhere, South Korean infrastructure shares outperformed after the departure of President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, spurring speculation the U.S. may show conciliatory gestures toward China and North Korea.Here are some key events coming up this week:OPEC’s monthly oil market report, which includes demand forecasts and production estimates, is due Wednesday.The ECB policy meeting Thursday is widely expected to see a cut to interest rates and a review of all options, including QE. Policy makers will also publish forecasts for growth and inflation. ECB President Mario Draghi will hold a press conference.U.S. data for August is due on producer prices Wednesday, and CPI Thursday.These are the main moves in markets:StocksFutures on the S&P 500 added 0.1% as of 6:35 a.m. in London. The index closed little changed Tuesday.Japan’s Topix index rose 1.5%.The Shanghai Composite fell 0.3%.South Korea’s Kospi index added 0.7%.Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 1.5%.Euro Stoxx 50 futures gained 0.3%.CurrenciesThe yen was at 107.79 per dollar, down 0.2%.The offshore yuan was steady at 7.1060 per dollar.The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed.The euro bought $1.1052, up 0.1%.BondsThe yield on 10-year Treasuries dipped to 1.72% after rising nine basis points Tuesday.Australian 10-year yields climbed about five basis points, to 1.13%.CommoditiesGold rose 0.6% to $1,494.20 an ounce.West Texas Intermediate crude advanced 0.8% to $57.84 a barrel.\--With assistance from Cormac Mullen.To contact the reporter on this story: Adam Haigh in Sydney at ahaigh1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Christopher Anstey at canstey@bloomberg.net, Ravil ShirodkarFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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