Asian Stocks Follow U.S. Shares Lower; Oil Slides: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks slipped Tuesday, following their U.S. peers lower amid fresh Sino-American tensions and concern over the economic impact of rising coronavirus cases. Crude oil fell.Shares in Tokyo, Sydney and Seoul saw modest declines. S&P 500 Index futures edged up after the benchmark briefly touched its highest since the pandemic sell-off in March, before closing lower. The Nasdaq hit another record before finishing in the red. Sentiment was hit on signs the virus is throttling reopening plans in states like California, and on news the Trump administration rejected China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea. Treasuries and the dollar were little changed.Traders are bracing for reports this week from a slew of companies that have yet to provide guidance on the impact of the virus. The focus is on whether the profit outlook will back up investor bullishness fueled by central bank and fiscal policy support to counter the impact of the pandemic.“There is a risk that the divergence between a gloomy economic outlook and unexpectedly strong returns from equity markets is reconciled by some pull-back in asset prices rather than a surge in economic optimism,” Chris Iggo, chief investment officer for core investments at AXA Investment Managers, said in a note. “There is a case for caution.”Meanwhile, relations between the U.S. and China were further strained with Washington rejecting Beijing’s claims in the South China Sea. That reversed a previous policy of not taking sides in territorial disputes in the region and escalated tensions on yet another front.Investors will also be parsing data for readings on the economic recovery. China’s balance of trade is due Tuesday ahead of gross domestic product data on Thursday, while figures showed Singapore’s economy plunged into recession last quarter as an extended lockdown shuttered businesses and decimated retail spending. Elsewhere, oil declined below $40 a barrel ahead of an OPEC+ meeting at which the group may announce plans to start tapering historic production cuts. Gold was steady.Here are some key events coming up:JPMorgan, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, BNY Mellon and Citigroup start the U.S. earnings season for banks.Wednesday brings the Bank of Japan’s policy decision and a Governor Haruhiko Kuroda briefing.The EIA crude oil inventory report is due Wednesday.China releases second-quarter GDP on Thursday as well as key economic indicators for June.The European Central Bank meets to set monetary policy on Thursday, with President Christine Lagarde holding a virtual press conference afterward.These are the main moves in markets:StocksS&P 500 futures rose 0.1% as of 9:07 a.m. in Tokyo. The S&P 500 Index dipped 0.9%.Topix index fell 0.4%.Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index declined 0.5%.Kospi index fell 0.5%.Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index futures earlier rose 0.4%.CurrenciesThe yen was trading at 107.34 per dollar, little changed.The offshore yuan was at 7.0062 per dollar.The euro was at $1.1346.The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1%.BondsThe yield on 10-year Treasuries held at 0.62%.Australia’s 10-year bond yield dipped to 0.89%.CommoditiesWest Texas Intermediate crude decreased 1.5% to $39.50 a barrel.Gold was little changed at $1,801.24 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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