Asian Stocks Set for Muted Open; Treasuries Steady: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks were poised for a muted open Thursday after the latest batch of corporate earnings did little to boost their U.S. counterparts. Treasuries were steady.

Futures were little changed in Japan and Australia, and were slightly lower in Hong Kong. The S&P 500 Index retreated led by a drop in health-care providers on concern about policy changes. Earnings from financials and transportation bellwethers painted a mixed picture on the state of the economy. The dollar slipped amid data showing the U.S. trade gap unexpectedly narrowed.

Investors are growing more optimistic the anticipated drop in first quarter earnings won’t spoil the year as results continue to pour in. Chinese data Wednesday appears to have calmed concerns that the world’s second-largest economy was headed for a slowdown. Still, volumes are low and will likely remain so ahead of the upcoming Easter holidays in many countries.

Elsewhere, oil declined after government data showed U.S. crude and gasoline supplies shrinking less than forecast by an industry report.

Here are some notable events coming up:

• Earnings season rolls on this week, with reports due from American Express, Honeywell, Alcoa and Taiwan Semiconductor among others.
• A swathe of financial markets will close across the Western world for the Good Friday holiday, including in the U.S., U.K. and Germany.

These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• Nikkei 225 futures were little changed.
• Hang Seng futures fell 0.2 percent.
• The S&P 500 fell 0.2 percent, while the Nasdaq 100 added 0.3 percent.
• The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 0.1 percent.
• The MSCI Emerging Market Index jumped 0.3 percent to the highest in 10 months.

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dipped 0.1 percent.
• The euro gained less than 0.1 percent to $1.1299.
• The British pound fell less than 0.05 percent to $1.3039.
• The Japanese yen was little changed at 112.04 per dollar.

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 2.59 percent after hitting the highest in more than four weeks.
• Germany’s 10-year yield added one basis point to 0.08 percent.

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.5 percent to $63.76 a barrel.
• Gold was steady at $1,274.00 an ounce.

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