Asia Stock Futures Drop; Dollar Holds Losses: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) -- Stocks in Asia looked set to halt a two-day rally after U.S. equities gave up solid gains, with investors weighing signs of a slowing rate of coronavirus spread against more fatalities.The dollar held losses amid an easing in funding strains, and the offshore yuan traded near its strongest in three weeks. U.S. equity futures erased losses and edged higher in early trading, signaling more volatility to come after the S&P 500 Index gave up a gain of as much as 3.5% Tuesday to close lower. Futures declined in Japan, Hong Kong and Australia. Treasuries dipped on Tuesday.While the S&P 500 briefly reached a 20% gain from its March low on Tuesday, the highest coronavirus death tolls yet in the U.K. and New York state reminded investors the outbreak is far from contained. Still, New York’s number of new cases slowed and Italy reported its fewest new infections since March 13. Several European nations planned to ease restrictions.“As the quarter progresses, investors start to understand that everything we’re seeing is in the form of assistance and aid to just tide the economy over,” Bob Michele, global chief investment officer at JPMorgan Asset Management, said on Bloomberg TV. “It’s not stimulus that gets the economy going at a much higher rate than where it is.”Oil edged up after sinking to the weakest level since the start of the month. Investors are weighing whether the world’s biggest producers will be able to strike a deal that cuts enough output to offset an unprecedented demand loss from the coronavirus outbreak.These are the main moves in markets:StocksFutures on the S&P 500 added 0.3% as of 8:30 a.m. in Tokyo. The index lost 0.2% on Tuesday.Futures on Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 1.2%.Hang Seng futures earlier fell 1.4%.Futures on Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index retreated 1%.CurrenciesThe yen was at 108.63 per dollar.The offshore yuan traded at 7.0650 per dollar.The euro was little changed at $1.0893.The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index lost 1% Tuesday.BondsThe yield on 10-year Treasuries rose four basis points to 0.71% Tuesday.Australia’s 10-year yield slipped three basis points to 0.89% on Wednesday. CommoditiesWest Texas crude rose 4.7% to $24.73 a barrel after tumbling on Tuesday.Gold was flat at $1,648.68 an ounce.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

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