Asia Stocks Mixed as Oil Holds Gains, Yen Declines – 29 March, 2017
Stocks in Asia had a mixed start as global equities remain close to a record high and U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration battles to revive its legislative agenda. The yen weakened and crude held on to Wednesday’s surge.
Equities in Australia, Hong Kong and New Zealand rose, while Japanese shares fell. Energy producers extended gains into Asia after buoying the S&P 500 Index, with global shares headed for a fifth month of gains. Crude traded near $49.50 a barrel as oil stockpiles increased less than forecast, while Treasuries dropped after Wednesday’s advance.
Gains in riskier assets have pushed the value of global stocks to $71 trillion as the reflation trade triggered by Trump’s election shows resilience. Stronger global growth has helped underpin the rally, even amid doubts about the U.S. president’s ability to enact pro-growth policies.
Markets showed little reaction to the U.K.’s formal triggering of Brexit Wednesday as the move had been broadly telegraphed. Still, the divorce will redefine the country’s relationship with its largest trading partner and end decades of deepening political integration on the continent.
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Here are key events the rest of this week:
- Proposals to design and build Trump’s promised 2,000-mile border wall between the U.S. and Mexico are due.
- Australian job vacancies, Hong Kong retail sales and data on China’s current account are all due Thursday.
Here are the major moves in the markets:
Stocks
- Japan’s Topix fell 0.3 percent as of 10:25 a.m. in Tokyo. The index is up 1.2 percent for the quarter, despite the yen’s strengthening this year.
- Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index climbed 0.4 percent, gaining for a third day as energy shares jumped. New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 gained 0.3 percent.
- Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.2 percent, and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index increased 0.3 percent.
- Futures on the S&P 500 Index rose 0.2 percent. The benchmark gauge rose 0.1 percent on Wednesday. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.3 percent to the highest since December 2015.
Currencies
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1 percent. The yen slid 0.3 percent, paring its gain for the quarter to 5 percent. The Australian dollar was little changed.
- The euro fell 0.1 percent, after declining 0.9 percent over the previous two days.
Bonds
- Yields on 10-year Treasuries rose two basis points to 2.40 percent. The rate has swung between gains and losses over the past four days.
- Australian 10-year yields fell two basis points to 2.70 percent.
Commodities
- Oil fell less than 0.1 percent to $49.47 a barrel, after surging 2.4 percent on Wednesday as a bigger-than-forecast decline in U.S. gasoline stockpiles countered an expansion of crude production to the highest level in more than a year.
- Gold slipped 0.2 percent to $1,250.87 an ounce. The metal is still up 9 percent for the quarter.
Source: Bloomberg