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Asia Stocks Rise as U.S. Data Calms Economy Worry: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) -- Stocks in Asia rose after a strong session on Wall Street as a slew of data bolstered confidence in the American economy. Treasuries built on Thursday’s declines.Equity gains were modest across the region, though the MSCI Asia Pacific Index remained on course for its biggest weekly rise since June. Earlier, the S&P 500 closed more than 1% higher as trade tensions appeared to ease between the U.S. and China, and strong private payrolls data and a better-than-expected reading on the services sector tamped down recession angst. Treasury yields ticker higher following Thursday’s jump that came amid a deluge of investment-grade corporate supply. Australian and Japanese bonds tracked the sell-off. Another stronger-than-forecast yuan currency fixing also aided sentiment.News that top Chinese and American officials agreed to restart talks aimed at ending the trade war is helping boost sentiment and adds to a renewed appetite for risk assets that took hold earlier in the week. After the strong U.S. economic data, focus is now likely to shift to remarks from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and the latest jobs report, both due Friday.“While this has been some positive economic data, it makes it a little more difficult for the Fed to cut rates,” Kristina Hooper, chief global market strategist at Invesco Ltd., told Bloomberg TV. “I suspect what we will hear from Powell is a very tepid commentary on the Fed’s ability to provide monetary policy accommodation.”Elsewhere, the Hong Kong dollar ticked lower after Fitch Ratings Inc. downgraded the territory as an issuer of long-term, foreign currency debt, on concerns recent political turmoil raises doubts about its governance framework.Here are some key events coming up:Fed chair Jerome Powell speaks in Zurich on Friday.The U.S. jobs report on Friday is projected to show the widely watched nonfarm payrolls rose by 160,000 in August, versus 164,000 the month prior. Estimates are for unemployment to be steady at 3.7% and the average hourly earnings rate of increase to slow to 3%.These are the main moves in markets:StocksThe MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.5% as of 1:06 p.m. in Tokyo.Japan’s Topix index added 0.3%.The Hang Seng Index climbed 0.6%.The Shanghai Composite rose 0.2%.South Korea’s Kospi added 0.4%.Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.6%.Futures on the S&P 500 Index advanced 0.2%. The underlying gauge increased 1.3% Thursday.CurrenciesThe yen was at 107.07 per dollar, down 0.1%.The offshore yuan dipped 0.1% to 7.1478 per dollar.The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed.The euro held at $1.1035.BondsThe yield on 10-year Treasuries added two basis points to 1.58% after climbing nine basis points Thursday.Australia’s 10-year yield rose 11 basis points to 1.08%.CommoditiesGold slid 0.2% to $1,516.02.West Texas Intermediate added 0.1% to $56.38 a barrel.To contact the reporter on this story: Adam Haigh in Sydney at ahaigh1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Christopher Anstey at canstey@bloomberg.net, Cormac Mullen, Joanna OssingerFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/asia-stocks-seen-higher-bonds-225134501.html?.tsrc=rss
(Bloomberg) -- Stocks in Asia rose after a strong session on Wall Street as a slew of data bolstered confidence in the American economy. Treasuries built on Thursday’s declines.Equity gains were modest across the region, though the MSCI Asia Pacific Index remained on course for its biggest weekly rise since June. Earlier, the S&P 500 closed more than 1% higher as trade tensions appeared to ease between the U.S. and China, and strong private payrolls data and a better-than-expected reading on the services sector tamped down recession angst. Treasury yields ticker higher following Thursday’s jump that came amid a deluge of investment-grade corporate supply. Australian and Japanese bonds tracked the sell-off. Another stronger-than-forecast yuan currency fixing also aided sentiment.News that top Chinese and American officials agreed to restart talks aimed at ending the trade war is helping boost sentiment and adds to a renewed appetite for risk assets that took hold earlier in the week. After the strong U.S. economic data, focus is now likely to shift to remarks from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and the latest jobs report, both due Friday.“While this has been some positive economic data, it makes it a little more difficult for the Fed to cut rates,” Kristina Hooper, chief global market strategist at Invesco Ltd., told Bloomberg TV. “I suspect what we will hear from Powell is a very tepid commentary on the Fed’s ability to provide monetary policy accommodation.”Elsewhere, the Hong Kong dollar ticked lower after Fitch Ratings Inc. downgraded the territory as an issuer of long-term, foreign currency debt, on concerns recent political turmoil raises doubts about its governance framework.Here are some key events coming up:Fed chair Jerome Powell speaks in Zurich on Friday.The U.S. jobs report on Friday is projected to show the widely watched nonfarm payrolls rose by 160,000 in August, versus 164,000 the month prior. Estimates are for unemployment to be steady at 3.7% and the average hourly earnings rate of increase to slow to 3%.These are the main moves in markets:StocksThe MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.5% as of 1:06 p.m. in Tokyo.Japan’s Topix index added 0.3%.The Hang Seng Index climbed 0.6%.The Shanghai Composite rose 0.2%.South Korea’s Kospi added 0.4%.Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.6%.Futures on the S&P 500 Index advanced 0.2%. The underlying gauge increased 1.3% Thursday.CurrenciesThe yen was at 107.07 per dollar, down 0.1%.The offshore yuan dipped 0.1% to 7.1478 per dollar.The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed.The euro held at $1.1035.BondsThe yield on 10-year Treasuries added two basis points to 1.58% after climbing nine basis points Thursday.Australia’s 10-year yield rose 11 basis points to 1.08%.CommoditiesGold slid 0.2% to $1,516.02.West Texas Intermediate added 0.1% to $56.38 a barrel.To contact the reporter on this story: Adam Haigh in Sydney at ahaigh1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Christopher Anstey at canstey@bloomberg.net, Cormac Mullen, Joanna OssingerFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/asia-stocks-seen-higher-bonds-225134501.html?.tsrc=rss
