TOKYO -- Asian shares caught the tail of a Wall Street rally on Friday, helped by China's better-than-expected export figures but fresh concerns about Sino-US trade ties are likely to limit gains in the region.
Weighing on risk appetite was a report from Bloomberg that Washington is delaying a decision about licenses for US firms to restart trade with Huawei Technologies. That sent US stock futures down as much as 0.6 percent in early Asian trade. They were last quoted 0.4 percent lower on the day.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.2 percent but was on track to lose 2.3 percent for the week.
Japan's Nikkei average advanced 0.6 percent, while Australian stocks stood flat and South Korean stocks gained 1.0 percent.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 registered its largest one-day percentage gain in about two months on Thursday, with the Dow and the Nasdaq also climbing more than 1 percent.
However, that optimism was dented by the Bloomberg report, which has reinforced concerns the deterioration in US-China relations will place additional strain on an already fragile global economy.
"The news about Huawei triggered the rise in the yen," said Junichi Ishikawa, senior foreign exchange strategist at IG Securities in Tokyo. "This is a reminder that the US-China trade dispute remains a risk, and this risk is not receding."
The yen strengthened as much as 0.4 percent against the dollar to 105.70 yen on a fresh worries triggered by a Bloomberg report.
US data pointed to a robust labor market as the number of Americans filing applications for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, allaying some worries about a recession and helping Treasury yields rise.
Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields closed 2.4 basis points higher at 1.715 percent after hitting 1.595 percent on Wednesday, which was their lowest level since October 2016.
The offshore yuan was stable versus the dollar in early trade but could be closely watched as traders assess the latest developments in the rapidly escalating trade war between the United States and China.
"The US-China trade war is very serious. My hope is that the United States and China can find enough to agree on so that they can contain the push-and-shove that occurs when the emerging power meets the dominant power. The alternative is not pleasant," said veteran investor Dan Fuss, vice chairman of Loomis Sayles.
"I think the rate cuts by the Asian central banks were in response to the weakening business environment due to the trade wars. The Fed is influenced by the same things and that will probably cause a further rate cut here."
Central banks in New Zealand, Thailand and India stunned financial markets on Wednesday with a series of surprising interest rate cuts and pointing to policymakers' dwindling ammunition to fight off a downturn.
On Thursday, the Philippine central bank joined the bandwagon and cut its key policy rates, whilst keeping the door open for further easing.
Oil jumped more than 2 percent on Thursday on expectations that falling prices could lead to production cuts.
Brent crude rose 0.4 percent to $57.63 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude climbed 0.5 percent to $52.79.
Spot gold held near the more than six-year peak touched Wednesday, rising 0.3 percent to $1,505.20 an ounce as investors sought the safety of the precious metal.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
TOKYO -- Asian shares steadied slightly on Wednesday as investors caught their breath from a searing week-long selloff, with steps taken by Chinese authorities to contain a sliding yuan helping calm fears of a full-blown Sino-US trade and currency war.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.05 percent in early trade after tumbling 8.26 percent in the previous eight sessions. Japan's Nikkei bucked the trend to slip 0.26 percent.
On Wall Street on Tuesday, the S&P 500 gained 1.3 percent and MSCI's broad gauge of stocks across the world rose 0.5 percent, its first gain in 7 sessions.
The rebound came as the People's Bank of China took steps on Tuesday to stabilize the yuan with a firmer-than-expected fixing and a bond sale to signal that the authorities wished to stem the rout.
Comments from Larry Kudlow, director of the White House National Economic Council, also soothed sentiment. Kudlow said on Tuesday the Trump administration wanted to continue trade talks with China and is still planning to host a Chinese delegation for talks in September.
The yuan had fallen sharply on Monday, going past the symbolic 7-per-dollar level, and prompting Washington to label Beijing a currency manipulator in a major escalation of the year-long trade dispute between the world's two largest economies.
In early Asian trade on Wednesday, the offshore yuan was flat at 7.0533 yuan per dollar, off Tuesday's low of 7.1400, its weakest level since international trading in the Chinese currency began in 2010.
Many investors believe Trump cannot afford prolonged instability in financial markets since his reputation was staked so closely on economic growth and the success of the U.S. stock market.
"Global financial markets have been shaken by concerns that escalating US-China trade tensions, which now has triggered a currency war, would cool the world economy substantially," Masahiro Fukuda, investment director at Fidelity.
"While we cannot rule out the possibility of political negotiations leading to unexpected outcomes, we think it is unnecessary to worry about recession as various fiscal and monetary stimulus should support the economy of the two courtiers," he said.
Overall, however, market sentiment remained fragile and with no clear end in the trade standoff in sight, some investors expect a rocky session ahead.
Goldman Sachs said it no longer expects a trade deal to be struck before the November 2020 US presidential election, while Morgan Stanley warned that more tit-for-tat tariffs could tip the world economy into recession by the middle of next year.
That rather grim backdrop supported safe-haven assets, with gold hitting a six-year high of $1,477 per ounce in early Wednesday trade. It last stood at $1.474.7.
US bonds have also retained much of their gains made in the past week. The 10-year Treasuries notes yielded 1.695 percent, compared to above 2 percent just a week ago, as investors bet on another rate cut by the Federal Reserve in September.
In the currency market, the dollar was traded at 106.33 yen , down 0.13 percent from late US levels, but off Tuesday's 7-month low of 105.52.
The euro stood flat at $1.1203. The Australian dollar fetched $0.67605, just a stone throw from its seven-month low of $0.6748 touched on Monday.
The New Zealand dollar was little changed at $0.6527 . The Reserve Bank of New Zealand is widely expected to cut interest rates for the second time this year, by 25 basis points to all-time low of 1.25 percent on Wednesday, to counter pressure on the economy from global trade disputes.
Oil prices also weakened, with global benchmark Brent crude slipping to seven-month lows, as trade tensions between the US and China intensified worries about weakening world demand.
Brent crude futures fell 0.36 percent to $58.73 a barrel, near its low on Tuesday of $58.55, a trough last seen in early January.
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SHANGHAI -- Asian equities tumbled, oil prices plunged and the safe-haven yen strengthened early on Monday as trade negotiations between China and the United States deteriorated suddenly, reversing apparent progress made in recent months.
US President Donald Trump sharply escalated trade tensions between the world's two largest economies with tweeted comments on Sunday that talks toward a trade deal with China were proceeding "too slowly", and that he would raise tariffs on $200 billion of goods to 25 percent on Friday from 10 percent.
He also said he would target a further $325 billion of Chinese goods with 25 percent tariffs "shortly".
The tweets upended the previously calm market mood that had benefited from signs of robust growth in China and the United States, and from comments from Trump and other senior US officials that trade talks were going well.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that China was considering cancelling trade talks scheduled for this week following Trump's threats.
"President Trump just killed the trade deal for a while and that has implications for Chinese and global growth, it also has implications for a number of assets," Greg McKenna, strategist at McKenna Macro said in a morning note to clients.
In early Asian trade, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.2 percent.
Australian shares were 0.6 percent lower in early trade.
Japanese financial markets remain closed until Tuesday for a national holiday, but Nikkei 225 futures dropped 1.8 percent to 22,085.
E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 slid 1.7 percent after the US payroll data had helped to lift Wall Street stocks on Friday.
Investors around Asia will be keeping an eye on Chinese markets, which will reopen following a three-day national holiday last week.
With an imminent trade deal on hold, Treasury futures jumped 14 ticks. Data from CME Group showed the market sees a nearly 58 percent chance of a Fed rate cut by the end of the year.
As investors flocked to the safe-haven yen, the dollar dropped 0.4 percent against the Japanese currency to 110.67 .
But China's offshore yuan plunged, weakening to 6.8108 per dollar, its weakest level since January 23.
The single currency was down 0.18 percent on the day at $1.1180. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was up at 97.574.
In commodity markets, US crude plunged 2.15 percent at $60.61 a barrel and Brent crude fell 1.78 percent to $69.59 per barrel.
Spot gold jumped 0.4 percent to trade at $1,283.65 per ounce.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
SHANGHAI -- Asian shares were lower on Monday, brushing off the firmer Wall Street lead as investor caution dominated ahead of the release of key Chinese economic data, which is expected to show signs of a slowdown.
But while broader concerns about the US-China trade war continue to temper risk appetite, the absence of any escalation of rhetoric out of Beijing or Washington over the past few days is helping support sentiment, as are strong earnings from industrial firms on Wall Street.
China is set to release second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) figures on Monday at 0200 GMT (10 a.m. Monday in Manila), which, along with June industrial output, are expected to show a modest slowdown in economic growth.
A government effort to rein in financial risk and an escalating trade war with the United States are expected to dent China's economic growth prospects.
In early Asian trade, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.1 percent.
On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.38 percent to 25,019.41 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.03 percent, to 7,825.98. The S&P 500 touched a five month high before ending up 0.11 percent to 2,801.31.
US stock futures touched a fresh five-month high on Monday. S&P500 e-mini futures, the world's most liquid equity index futures, rose 0.2 percent in early Asian trade to hit their highest level since Feb. 2.
US stocks had been lifted by gains in industrial counters and energy companies, offsetting a drop in financials after mixed earnings from big Wall Street banks. Investors have also taken succor from a lack of new escalation of trade war rhetoric.
Australian shares were flat, and Seoul's Kospi was down 0.1 percent. Japan's markets are closed for a holiday Monday.
The dollar rose 0.05 percent against the yen to 112.42 .
The euro was down 0.1 percent on the day at $1.1677, while the dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of 6 major rivals, was flat at 94.768.
The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes rose to 2.8289 percent compared with its US close of 2.831 percent on Friday.
Treasury prices have fallen after the US Federal Reserve reiterated on Friday in its semi-annual Monetary Policy Report to the US Congress that it expected "further gradual increases" in interest rates due to "solid" economic growth.
The two-year yield, which rises with traders' expectations of higher Fed fund rates, was at 2.582 percent, unchanged from the US close.
ANZ analysts said in a note Monday that the Fed's report "yielded few surprises," but noted that trade tensions continue to weigh on commodity markets and US consumer confidence.
US crude dipped 0.5 percent at $70.67 a barrel, weighed by easing concerns about supply disruptions that had pushed prices higher. Brent crude was 0.4 percent lower at $75.04 per barrel.
A rising dollar drove gold prices to seven-month lows on Friday, but spot gold was slightly higher on Monday, trading at $1241.16 per ounce.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
SINGAPORE - The dollar extended its overnight gains in early Asian trade on Friday on signs of strong US economic growth, while the euro inched up after sliding overnight on data suggesting slowing growth in Europe.
Stock markets in Asia were off a bit despite solid gains on Wall Street as investors awaited China's official manufacturing purchasing managers index data for March.
The focus will be on whether the uptick in activity over the past few months holds up. The data is expected at 0100 GMT (9 a.m. in Manila).
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan retreated 0.2 percent, poised to post an almost 13 percent gain for the first three months of the year.
Japan's Nikkei jumped 0.5 percent after Japanese core consumer prices rose 0.2 percent in February. While that is the fastest annual pace in nearly two years, it is still a far cry from the central bank's 2 percent target.
The Japanese benchmark is set to end the first quarter up 0.3 percent
"The prospect of unpredictable flows in the foreign exchange, bond and equity markets is high as we head into the last day of the month, and more importantly, quarter end," Chris Weston, chief market strategist at IG in Melbourne, wrote in a note.
The South African rand dropped to a seven-week low after President Jacob Zuma sacked finance minister Pravin Gordhan in a cabinet reshuffle after days of speculation that has rocked the country's markets and currency, replacing him with home affairs head Malusi Gigaba.
A statement from the president's office just after midnight on Thursday said Zuma had also appointed Sfiso Buthelezi as Deputy Finance Minister replacing Mcebisi Jonas.
The dollar was up 1.1 percent at 13.44356 rand, on track to end the week more than 8 percent higher.
Overnight, all three major Wall Street indexes closed about 0.3 percent higher after fourth-quarter annualized growth in US growth domestic product was revised up from the previously reported figure. Consumer spending growth was also revised up.
The upbeat data also helped lift the dollar, which pulled back slightly early on Friday.
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six peers, rose almost 0.1 percent to 100.47, after hitting Thursday's two-week high of 100.6 again. Despite this week's gains - it is up almost 1.7 percent since Monday's four-month low - the greenback is set to end the quarter 1.7 percent lower.
The dollar pulled back about 0.1 percent to 111.78 yen after Thursday's 0.8 percent jump.
The euro crawled up 0.1 percent to $1.0686 in an effort to make up some of Thursday's 0.8 percent tumble. The common currency is on track to post a gain of 1 percent for March and 1.6 percent for the quarter.
Data showed German and Spanish consumer inflation slowed more than expected in March on a pull back in oil prices, disappointing investors who were hoping for a wind down of the European Central Bank's monetary stimulus.
In commodities, oil prices retreated early on Friday.
US crude slipped 0.2 percent to $50.25 a barrel. On Thursday, it closed 1.7 percent higher after zipping to a three-week-high earlier in the session after Kuwait backed an extension of OPEC production cuts to ease a global glut.
It is heading for a 6.4 percent loss for the week.
Gold was steady at $1,242.71 an ounce, after losing 0.7 percent on Thursday on the dollar's strength, but remains set for an almost 8 percent quarterly gain.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
