Asian stocks mixed in early trade as dollar falls: markets rumble

(Bloomberg) – Stocks in Asia were mixed and the dollar weakened as investors digested conflicting corporate earnings and economic data.

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An Asian stocks indicator pared gains after Hong Kong shares fell at the open. Japanese stocks rose on corporate earnings optimism while Australian financial markets are closed for a holiday.

US stock futures were little changed in Asia after the S&P 500 closed just 0.1% higher on Monday and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 fell 0.2%. This extended the number of trading days that the two indices have moved less than 1% to seven.

A Bloomberg measure of the dollar fell for a fourth day, while the yen fell against all of its Group of 10 peers. Treasury yields fell in Asian trading after 10-year bonds tumbled eight basis points on Monday, their biggest one-day decline since March.

According to futures, investors have scaled back their bets on US interest rate hikes. Market prices are now suggesting that the Federal Reserve benchmark will peak in June and then end the year below 4.5%.

The Fed’s small price moves underscore the disorientation at the start of a busy week for economic data and corporate earnings. US manufacturing data came in weaker than economists had forecast and uncertainty about the debt ceiling continued. Later this week, US GDP data is expected to show slower growth and the so-called core PCE deflator, the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation, is expected to show slowing price growth.

“The Fed will continue to feel like it can be hawkish as long as the economy remains as resilient,” Shana Sissel, president and CEO of Banrion Capital Management, told Bloomberg Television. “Many hedge funds position themselves because they think interest rates will go up. I’m in the same camp.”

Meanwhile, the CBOE VIX index of stock volatility remained near the 17-month low hit last week, but Marko Kolanovic, strategist at JPMorgan Chase & Co., said it could spell trouble for stock investors as it is a false gives a feeling of calm.

South Korea’s economy grew faster than forecast in the first quarter, according to data released on Tuesday, giving the central bank leeway to gauge the policy’s impact on growth and inflation.

First Republic Bank plans to cut up to a quarter of its workforce and shrink its balance sheet after deposits fell more than expected. UBS Group AG shares rose after takeover target Credit Suisse AG reported outflows that were smaller than some analysts had predicted. Microsoft Corp., Meta Platforms Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. will report later this week.

In commodities, oil advanced on the third day and gold faced its biggest rise in nearly two weeks.

Important events this week:

• New US Home Sales, Consumer Confidence, Tuesday

• CPI Australia, Wednesday

• Sweden rate decision, Wednesday

• Eurozone Economy, Consumer Confidence, Thursday

• US Initial Jobless Claims, GDP, Thursday

• Bank of Japan meets Friday on interest rates

• Eurozone GDP, Friday

• US personal income, Friday

Result Highlights:

• Tuesday: Pepsi, General Motors, General Electric, McDonalds, Microsoft, UBS, UPS

• Wednesday: Boeing, Meta, Hilton

• Thursday: Amazon, American Airlines, Intel, Mastercard, Southwest Airlines, Hershey, Honeywell, Barclays

Some of the key movements in the markets:

Shares

• S&P 500 futures were little changed as of 10:27 a.m. Tokyo time. The S&P 500 rose 0.1%

• Nasdaq 100 futures were little changed. The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.2%

• Japan Topix Index up 0.7%

• South Korea’s Kospi index was little changed

• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.3%

• China’s Shanghai Composite Index was little changed

currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1%

• The euro rose 0.2% to $1.1066

• The Japanese yen was little changed at 134.26 per dollar

• The offshore yuan was little changed at 6.8975 per dollar

• The Australian dollar rose 0.1% to $0.6703

cryptocurrencies

• Bitcoin was little changed at $27,462.94

• Ether was little changed at $1,841.61

Bind

raw materials

• West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.3% to $79.02 a barrel

• Spot gold rose 0.5% to $1,999.26 an ounce

This story was created with the support of Bloomberg Automation.

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