Asian Shares Mixed; Oil Steadies Near a 2014 High: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks were mixed after a muted U.S. trading session, with Japanese shares paring gains as the yen fluctuated after hitting its weakest against the dollar this year.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average retreated from an intraday high, after closing Monday at its highest since 1991. Stocks in Hong Kong underperformed as traders returned from a long weekend, and equities also fell in Australia and South Korea. China’s markets are shut throughout the week. Earlier, the S&P 500 Index finished higher, though more stocks fell than rose in the benchmark index. The pound rose following a report the U.K. is planning a compromise on Irish border rules, before pulling back.

Global investor sentiment remains fragile, even after a deal between the U.S. and Canada to revamp the Nafta bloc with Mexico. Sino-American tensions remain in focus after the Chinese navy dispelled an American missile destroyer from waters near South China Sea islands, in China’s account of the incident. Meantime, political drama in Washington still swirls around President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, which may feed through to November congressional elections and affect the outlook for the administration’s agenda.

Elsewhere, oil consolidated at its highest in almost four years as a slowdown in U.S. drilling adds to concern over supply losses from Iran and Venezuela. Italian bonds extended their slide from last week, dragging European debt lower Monday as uncertainty persisted over a budget accord.

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Here are some key events coming up this week:

• U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May speaks Oct. 3. in Birmingham.
• Central bank policy decisions are scheduled by the Reserve Bank of Australia on Tuesday and Reserve Bank of India on Friday.
• U.S. employment reports for September also due Friday.

These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• Japan’s Topix index climbed 0.5 percent and the Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 0.2 percent as of 10:35 a.m. in Tokyo.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.4 percent.
• South Korea’s Kospi index lost 0.5 percent.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 1.1 percent.
• S&P 500 futures fell 0.1 percent. The S&P 500 itself rose 0.4 percent Monday.

Currencies

• The yen was little changed at 113.89 per dollar, near the weakest since November 2017.
• The offshore yuan was at 6.8886 per dollar.
• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was flat.
• The euro was steady at $1.1577 after dipping 0.2 percent for a fourth day of losses Monday.

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries held at 3.08 percent.
• Australia’s 10-year bond yield rose two basis points to 2.69 percent.
• Italy’s 10-year yield climbed 15 basis points Monday, to 3.295 percent.

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude was little changed at $75.48 a barrel after hitting the highest level since 2014 Monday.
• Gold rose 0.2 percent to $1,189.22 an ounce.
• The Bloomberg Commodity Index gained 1.4 percent to a three-month high Monday.

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