Asia Stocks Edge Up With Fed in Focus; Dollar Dips: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) -- Most stocks in Asia drifted higher Monday as investors look for clues on the economic recovery in a big earnings week and a Federal Reserve meeting. The dollar and Treasuries slipped.

An MSCI Inc. gauge of the region’s stocks rose, though individual market moves across the region were muted. U.S. futures fluctuated after most major groups in the S&P 500 advanced Friday. The 10-year Treasury yield ticked higher, though remained below 1.6%.

Copper surged to the highest in a decade on expectations supply will tighten as the global economic recovery gains traction. Oil and gold were little changed. Bitcoin fell to the lowest in seven weeks before bouncing back above $50,000.

Focus turns to the Fed meeting, with policy makers reiterating that they are in no hurry to withdraw support even as the U.S. economy rebounds. U.S. new-home sales rebounded in March to the highest since 2006, while output at manufacturers and service providers reached a record high in April.

A slew of earnings from megacaps including Tesla Inc., Facebook Inc. and Apple Inc. will be parsed as investors look for clues on how companies are faring in the recovery.

“If we are going to see big jumps in earnings growth for these companies this week, then I think those it’s a positive backdrop for the markets,” Ben Emons, Medley Global Advisors global macro strategy managing director, said on Bloomberg Television. On the Fed meeting, “Treasury yields have declined a little bit, they’ve taken back rate hikes in the future and we can’t really expect the Federal Reserve or other central banks to lift off so quickly, so soon given the uncertainty about the pandemic,” Emons said.

On the virus front, India’s Covid-19 crisis is worsening, with a million cases added in the past three days.

Here are some key events to watch this week:

• Bloomberg Live hosts the Bloomberg Green Summit Monday through April 27
• Bank of Japan rate decision and Governor Haruhiko Kuroda briefing Tuesday
• Fed Chair Jerome Powell holds a press conference Wednesday following the FOMC meeting
• Joe Biden makes his first address as president to a joint session of Congress Wednesday
• U.S. GDP is forecast to show robust 6% growth in the first quarter, bolstered by government stimulus Thursday

These are some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• S&P 500 futures rose 0.1% as of 12:44 p.m. in Tokyo. The S&P 500 rose 1.1% Friday
• Topix index rose 0.2%
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index was little changed
• Kospi index rose 0.7%
• Hang Seng Index was little changed
• Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.2%
• Euro Stoxx 50 futures dipped 0.1%

Currencies

• The yen rose 0.2% to 107.70 per dollar
• The offshore yuan was at 6.4826 per dollar, up 0.1%
• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dipped 0.1%
• The euro rose 0.1% to $1.2113

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose one basis point to 1.57%
• Australia’s 10-year bond yield was at 1.73%

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude dipped 0.4% to $61.91 a barrel
• Gold was at $1,782.25 an ounce, up 0.3%
• LME copper increased 1% to $9,650 a ton

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