Asian Stocks Push Higher Led by Gains in China: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks pushed higher Thursday as investors continued to place faith in policy support and shrugged off simmering tensions between Washington and Beijing. The dollar steadied.Chinese equities outperformed as traders watched to see if the Shanghai Composite can extend its surge for an eighth day. Shares in Hong Kong, Sydney and Seoul also advanced, and Japanese stocks reversed earlier losses. Futures on the S&P 500 fluctuated after the gauge climbed to a one-month high on Wednesday, when advances in megacaps like Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. sent the Nasdaq Composite to a record. Gold held above $1,800 an ounce. The offshore yuan rose above 7 per dollar to the highest since mid-March. Treasuries were steady.Amid signals of support from authorities and signs of frenzied buying among retail traders, Chinese stocks have already climbed about 9% this week. Meanwhile, investors have continued to look past news on the virus front, where the number of U.S. infections topped 3 million, more than a quarter of the global total. Arizona and Florida continued to report increases, albeit at levels below their seven-day averages.As long as central banks “have the intention of continuing to try to provide stimulus to the global economy, markets will continue to drive higher even as they dislocate from the fundamentals that would otherwise normally drive earnings and stock prices,” Shana Sissel, chief investment officer at Spotlight Asset Group, said on Bloomberg TV.Meanwhile, oil traded near a four-month high despite U.S. crude inventories holding close to a record and gasoline demand still at the weakest seasonal level in more than 20 years.Here are some key events coming up:All eyes will be on the U.S. weekly jobless claims report on Thursday.Singapore holds its general election on Friday.These are the main moves in markets:StocksFutures on the S&P 500 Index were little changed as of 12:55 p.m. in Tokyo. The gauge rose 0.8% on Wednesday.Japan’s Topix index rose 0.3%.Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.4%.Shanghai Composite advanced 1%.South Korea’s Kospi index gained 0.8%.Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 1%.CurrenciesThe yen was at 107.29 per dollar, little changed.The euro bought $1.1346, up 0.1%.The offshore yuan was at 6.9953 per dollar.BondsThe yield on 10-year Treasuries remained at about 0.66%.Australia’s 10-year yield rose three basis points to 0.90%.CommoditiesWest Texas Intermediate crude slipped 0.3% to $40.79 a barrel.Gold was at $1,808.68 an ounce, little changed.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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