BackAsia stocks picture mixed on Fed view, China woes
With Federal Reserve officials signalling another rate hike in the coming time and spillover effect of China's unrest, stocks opened on a cautious note in Asia on Tuesday
PremiumStocks opened on a cautious note in Asia on Tuesday after Federal Reserve officials stressed that more interest rate hikes were coming and as Covid protests eased in China amid a heavy police presence on city streets.
Equities declined in Australia and Japan while futures for Hong Kong rose. A gauge of US-listed Chinese shares climbed on Monday on stronger-than-expected earnings, new housing support and speculation that nationwide demonstrations may hasten a shift away from Covid Zero policies.
The S&P 500 pared its monthly gain as Fed Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said markets may be underestimating the chances of higher rates. His New York counterpart John Williams noted policymakers have more work to do to curb inflation. Fed Vice Chair Lael Brainard said the string of supply shocks is keeping inflation risks elevated.
A gauge of the dollar fell slightly following two days of gains. The Japanese yen advanced on demand for haven assets.
Treasuries were little changed. Benchmark government yields made small gains in Australia and New Zealand in early trading Tuesday.
Investor anxiety continued to grip Bitcoin, with the crypto market digesting BlockFi Inc.’s bankruptcy filling.
Elsewhere, oil fell Tuesday after gaining Monday when OPEC+ was seen considering deeper output cuts amid a faltering market.
Investors will remain focused on developments in China Tuesday, and further ahead to Fed chief Jerome Powell’s speech Wednesday. Many economists expect he’ll cement bets that the Fed will slow its pace of rate increases next month -- while reminding Americans that its fight against inflation will run into 2023.
“It’s a decent time to start considering sharpening your pencil and think about what is a good buy right now," Terri Spath, founder and chief investment officer of Zuma Wealth Management, said on Bloomberg Television. She said that the coming slowdown in the US economy would be mild and that if there’s a shallow recession “we can actually see some bottoms in stocks."
Stagflation is the key risk for the global economy in 2023, according to investors who said hopes of a rally in markets are premature following this year’s brutal selloff. Almost half of the 388 respondents to the latest MLIV Pulse survey said a scenario where growth continues to slow while inflation remains elevated will dominate globally next year.
Key events this week:
-Euro area economic confidence, consumer confidence, Tuesday
-US Conference Board consumer confidence, Tuesday
-EIA crude oil inventory report, Wednesday
-China PMI, Wednesday
-Fed Chair Jerome Powell speech, Wednesday
-Fed releases its Beige Book, Wednesday
-US wholesale inventories, GDP, Wednesday
-S&P Global PMIs, Thursday
-US construction spending, consumer income, initial jobless claims, ISM -Manufacturing, Thursday
-BOJ’s Haruhiko Kuroda speaks, Thursday
-US unemployment, nonfarm payrolls, Friday
-ECB’s Christine Lagarde speaks, Friday
-Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
-S&P 500 futures were little changed as of 9:15 a.m. in Tokyo. Tokyo time. The S&P 500 fell 1.5%
-Nasdaq 100 futures were little changed. The Nasdaq 100 fell 1.4%
-Japan’s Topix fell 0.8%
-Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.4%
-Hang Seng Index futures rose 1.2%
Currencies
-The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1%
-The euro was little changed at $1.0349
-The Japanese yen rose 0.2% to 138.61 per dollar
-The offshore yuan rose 0.1% to 7.2367 per dollar
-The Australian dollar was little changed at $0.6656
Cryptocurrencies
-Bitcoin fell 0.5% to $16,110.54
-Ether fell 1% to $1,160.67
Bonds
-The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 3.69%
-Australia’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 3.55%
Commodities
-West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.1% to $76.37 a barrel
-Spot gold was little changed
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This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.
