Asian Stocks Drift; Yen Slips to a Four-Week Low: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks saw muted trading Tuesday after their U.S. counterparts slipped overnight, with Treasuries little changed. The yen dipped to a four-week low.Stocks saw modest gains in Japan, fluctuated in South Korea and were little changed at the open in China and Hong Kong. S&P 500 futures edged lower after U.S. equities fell for a second day as investors took a cautious approach in a week full of central bank activity. Trading may continue to be muted ahead of key testimony this week from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, as investors assessed prospects for monetary easing following some conflicting signals on the U.S. economy.While traders continue to price in a Fed interest-rate cut this month, the latest payroll report signaled that the American economy remains on track, increasing uncertainty over what to expect from that policy meeting. In Asia, rising tensions between Japan and South Korea have added to existing headwinds for trade and added to challenges for the tech industry.Elsewhere, oil retreated as economic anxiety hung over the market.Here are some key events coming up:U.K. Conservative Party members start voting Monday to choose Theresa May’s successor. Front-runner Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt will appear at events through the week, including a televised debate on July 9.Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testifies before Congress on monetary policy and the state of the U.S. economy on Wednesday (the House of Representatives) and Thursday (the Senate).Fed minutes are due on Wednesday, ECB minutes on Thursday.A key measure of U.S. inflation -- the core consumer price index, due Thursday -- is expected to have increased 0.2% in June from the prior month, while the broader CPI is forecast to remain unchanged.U.S. producer prices are due on Friday.Here are the main moves in markets:StocksThe MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.1% as of 10:30 am in Tokyo.Topix Index rose 0.2%.Kospi Index fell 0.1%.S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.3%.Hang Seng Index fell 0.3%.Shanghai Composite Index was little changed.S&P 500 futures fell 0.1%. The S&P 500 Index dropped 0.5% Monday.CurrenciesThe Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was flat.The euro was little changed $1.1211.The Japanese yen fell 0.1% at 108.87.The offshore yuan was little changed at 6.8902 per dollar.BondsThe yield on 10-year Treasuries fell almost one basis point to 2.04%.Australian 10-year bond yield rose 1 basis point to 1.33%.CommoditiesWest Texas Intermediate crude dipped 0.4% to $57.43 a barrel Tuesday.Gold was little changed at $1,393 an ounce.To contact the reporter on this story: Cormac Mullen in Tokyo at cmullen9@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Christopher Anstey at canstey@bloomberg.netFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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