Asia Stocks Look Mixed After U.S. Slips off Record: Markets Wrap

Asia Stocks Look Mixed After U.S. Slips off Record: Markets Wrap
Emily Barrett
·3 min read

(Bloomberg) -- Asian equities look set for a mixed open Thursday after U.S. stocks closed off all-time peaks as a drop in cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global Inc. overshadowed strong bank earnings. Crude oil trimmed gains.

Futures dipped in Hong Kong and Australia and edged higher in Japan. U.S. contracts climbed after a slide in technology shares pulled benchmarks off record levels. Coinbase traded down in its Nasdaq debut, and Bitcoin slid from its high. The S&P 500 Index fluctuated as traders attended to earnings from some of the world’s biggest banks, including revenue windfalls for Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Read: Coinbase Selloff After Trading Debut Spills Into Bitcoin Rally

Treasuries slipped in U.S. hours though the benchmark 10-year yield at 1.63% remains well off its highs. The dollar extended losses.

Traders in Asia will focus on the People’s Bank of China’s cash injection Thursday, as a signal of whether policy makers are ready to provide fresh liquidity to ease rising concerns over tightening supply.

With equities hovering around record levels, traders are watching the earnings season for further catalysts. Expectations for a strong profit rebound have buoyed indexes, setting the bar high as reporting gets underway. More broadly, investors are alert to any setbacks to the economic recovery from spikes in Covid-19 infections and troubled vaccine rollouts.

“You’re going to see this tug-of-war continue within markets as investors weigh the prospects of a strengthening economy with the risk of rising inflationary pressures,” said Adam Phillips, managing director of portfolio strategy at EP Wealth Advisors.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell reiterated the central bank’s continued support for the recovery in a speech to the Economic Club of Washington Wednesday. He also noted that a pullback in asset purchases would happen “well before” policy makers consider raising interest rates.

Meanwhile, U.S. health officials wrapped up a meeting on the possible side effects of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine Wednesday without a vote, effectively extending a pause on its use.

Bitcoin touched a record of $64,870 before slipping. Oil trimmed an overnight jump but remained close to $63 a barrel as shrinking crude stockpiles in the U.S. supported hopes for a global demand recovery.

Some key events to watch this week:

U.S. data including initial jobless claims, industrial production and retail sales come Thursday.China economic growth, industrial production and retail sales figures are on Friday.

These are some of the main moves in financial markets:

Stocks

S&P 500 futures were 0.2% higher as of 7:45 a.m. in Tokyo. The index closed down 0.4%.Nikkei 225 futures were up 0.1%.Hang Seng futures fell 0.5% earlier.S&P/ASX 200 futures were down 0.5%.

Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was steady after falling 0.2% in U.S. trade.The euro was at $1.1983.The Japanese yen was at 108.93 per dollar.The offshore yuan was at 6.5316 per dollar.

Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose two basis points to 1.63%.

Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 0.4% to $62.91 a barrel.Gold was at $1,736.77 an ounce.

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