Futures Rise With Most Asian Stocks; Dollar Slips: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. futures rose along with most Asian stock markets Friday as investors parsed signs of an economy recovery. Treasury yields steadied near an eight-week high and the dollar weakened.

Shares in Hong Kong and China rose as data showed China’s economic recovery continued in July. Equities were little changed in Japan, posted modest gains in Australia and fell in South Korea after daily virus cases there almost doubled. S&P 500 Index remains close to a record high even after Thursday’s drop. Gold held to two days of gains and oil headed for a second weekly advance.

Investors continue to bank on further fiscal stimulus to help the nascent recovery, after U.S. and Asian stocks erased most of their pandemic-related losses. A report showed weekly jobless claims in the U.S. dropped below 1 million for the first time since March, but there are more Americans seeking work now than at the highest point after the 2008 financial crisis.

“Investors assumed that a deal would get done in early August. Now that this is not happening, it raises some risks for the economy,” said Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak & Co. “Therefore, investors are going back to focusing on what will work even if the economy sputters once again.”

Meanwhile, Florida’s governor warned that more Covid-19 virus deaths may be coming at nursing homes and assisted-living facilities. Germany recorded the highest number of new cases in more than three months, as cases also rose in France, Greece and Spain.

Here are some key events coming up:

These are the market movers:

Stocks

• S&P 500 futures rose 0.3% as of 3:19 p.m. in Tokyo. The S&P 500 fell 0.2% Thursday.
• Japan’s Topix Index closed little changed.
• Kospi Index fell 1.1%.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.6%.
• Hang Seng Index climbed 0.5%.
• Shanghai Composite Index added 0.8%.

Currencies

• The yen was little changed at 106.8 per dollar.
• The offshore yuan traded flat at 6.9453 per dollar.
• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index slipped 0.1%.
• The euro bought $1.1807, down less than 0.1%.

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell one basis point to 0.71%.

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude edged up to $42.40 a barrel.
• Gold was little changed at $1,953 an ounce.

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