Home Markets Asia Equities Mixed as Markets Shut for Holidays: Markets Wrap

Asia Equities Mixed as Markets Shut for Holidays: Markets Wrap

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(Bloomberg) — Stocks in Asia struggled for traction Friday, with Hong Kong dropping a third day and many markets in the region shut down for public holidays, after US shares inched to a record.

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Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell, continuing volatile trading this week as China attempts to stem the country’s equity market slump. Prior efforts to arrest market declines, notably in 2015, may not work this time around, investors warn.

Markets will close early Friday in Hong Kong and Singapore and will be shut in mainland China, Taiwan, South Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

“What we need in China in terms of catalysts is a large coordinated fiscal easing targeting demand,” Florian Neto, head of Asia multi-asset at Amundi Hong Kong Ltd., said on Bloomberg Television. “What we have is market stabilization, but it’s not tackling the fundamental issues in the Chinese economy.”

US futures were little changed. The S&P 500 closed 0.1% higher Thursday, just below 5,000 — a threshold it hit briefly during the session. The closing level set a fresh high. The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.2%.

“Our base case remains for a soft landing for the US economy, with the S&P 500 ending the year around current levels,” Solita Marcelli at UBS Global Wealth Management said in a Thursday note. “However, recent economic data have highlighted the potential for a period of continued stronger growth, tame inflation, and swifter monetary easing. In this event, we believe the S&P 500 has the potential to rise to around 5,300 this year.”

Australian equities were little changed and Japanese stocks traded within tight ranges, with the weaker yen offering some support. The currency steadied after slipping 0.8% against the greenback on Thursday, in the wake of comments from a Bank of Japan deputy governor suggesting the central bank will be in no rush to shift its easy policy settings. An index of the dollar was steady.

Japan-listed SoftBank Group Corp. rallied as much as 10% after exceeding net income forecasts in its latest quarterly results and from further gains for Arm Holdings Plc, in which it owns a stake. Nissan shares slipped more than 9% after the company missed profit estimates.

Treasuries were little changed in Asian trading after a decline on Thursday. Selling came even after the US government sold $25 billion in 30-year bonds at a lower-than-expected yield, in a sign of healthy demand. The 10-year yield rose three basis points Thursday and has added 13 basis points this week as investors adjust interest rate forecasts on strong economic data and comments from central bank policymakers.

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Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin was the latest to reiterate the central bank has time to be patient before cutting rates. Fresh data on Thursday also underscored US economic resilience. Jobless claims fell just shy of consensus predictions, in a sign the labor market remains strong.

Elsewhere, New Zealand yields and the currency climbed after ANZ Bank New Zealand Ltd. forecast that the central bank will raise interest rates twice more this year.

Inflation Revisions

Interest rate forecasts could receive another jolt later Friday when the US revises monthly inflation data. Investors will be watching closely after last year’s updates cast doubt on the Fed’s progress in taming consumer prices.

“CPI revisions could throw cold water on the recent good inflation numbers — but this is a wonky number,” said Andrew Brenner at NatAlliance Securities. “We think the next move comes off the CPI number next Tuesday.”

Elsewhere, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said US regulators are monitoring risks stemming from nonbank mortgage lenders, and cautioned that a failure of one of them is possible in the case of market strains.

Bitcoin topped $45,000. Oil rallied amid doubts over a potential cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war.

Key events this week:

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

  • S&P 500 futures were little changed as of 10:37 a.m. Tokyo time

  • Nasdaq 100 futures were little changed

  • Hang Seng futures fell 1.7%

  • Japan’s Topix rose 0.1%

  • Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.1%

  • Euro Stoxx 50 futures were little changed

Currencies

  • The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed

  • The euro was little changed at $1.0777

  • The Japanese yen was little changed at 149.27 per dollar

  • The offshore yuan was little changed at 7.2124 per dollar

Cryptocurrencies

  • Bitcoin was little changed at $45,345.27

  • Ether was little changed at $2,425.24

Bonds

  • The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 4.14%

  • Japan’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to 0.710%

  • Australia’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to 4.12%

Commodities

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

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