Stocks Struggle for Traction; Dollar Steadies: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) -- Stocks in Asia were mixed on Friday though remained on course to climb for the first week in September as investors look for the next catalyst to reignite the rally. The dollar steadied after Thursday’s gyrations.Declines at Tencent Holdings Ltd. weighed on Hong Kong’s stock market after a report the Trump administration has asked gaming companies to hand over information about their data-security protocols involving the Chinese tech giant. Shares in South Korea and Australia retreated, while Japan was flat.S&P 500 futures sank after the U.S. index dropped for a second day, though it did find some support after bouncing off its 50-day moving average. Technology shares were the biggest decliners, with Apple Inc., Facebook Inc. and Microsoft Corp. weighing on the Nasdaq Composite. Data showed the number of Americans applying for jobless benefits resumed a decline. Treasuries were little changed.Investors are on the lookout for more U.S. fiscal stimulus after the Federal Reserve indicated this week that interest rates will stay low for years to come. With global Covid-19 cases exceeding 30 million, data continues to show a patchy recovery path around the world.“Fiscal policy needs to really step up,” said Matthew Sherwood, head of investment strategy for multi-asset at Perpetual Investment Management Ltd. “Consumer sentiment data and the employment picture still reflect a fragile recovery which needs to be bolstered by higher incomes.”Elsewhere, gold edged higher. Crude oil held near $41 a barrel and is up nearly 10% this week.These are some of the main moves in markets:StocksFutures on the S&P 500 fell 0.5% as of 10:34 a.m. in Tokyo. The gauge fell 0.8% on Thursday.Japan’s Topix index was flat.Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.1%.Shanghai Composite was little changed.South Korea’s Kospi index fell 0.3%.Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 0.2%.Euro Stoxx 50 futures declined 0.5%.CurrenciesThe Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose less than 0.1%.The yen was at 104.75 per dollar.The offshore yuan traded at 6.7513 per dollar.The euro bought $1.1848, little changed.BondsThe yield on 10-year Treasuries dipped one basis point to 0.68%.CommoditiesWest Texas Intermediate crude was at $40.83 a barrel, down 0.3%.Gold was at $1,950.66 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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