Bloomberg.com — Stocks retreated in Asia after benchmark U.S. Treasury yields climbed back toward seven-year highs in wake of minutes of the latest Federal Reserve policy meeting. The dollar extended gains while China’s currency hit its weakest since the start of last year.

Equity benchmarks fell in Japan and South Korea, while Chinese stocks tumbled deeper into a bear market. U.S. stock futures slid after a flat session on Wednesday and European futures ticked lower. The British pound declined as Brexit talks between the U.K. and the EU appeared deadlocked. The yuan dipped against the greenback as the U.S. Treasury refrained from naming China a currency manipulator, while at the same time escalating scrutiny of the country’s exchange-rate policy.

The risk-off tone across markets highlights the fragility of investor confidence just days after the worst week for global stocks since March. While solid earnings results had spurred a rebound earlier this week, that momentum faded by the Wednesday U.S. session. Meantime, in the latest trade salvo, President Donald Trump plans to withdraw the U.S. from a postal treaty that gives Chinese companies discounted shipping rates for small packages sent to American consumers.

Citigroup Inc. analysts saw no solace in China avoiding the “manipulator” label in the Treasury’s semiannual foreign-exchange report.

“We continue to think that the U.S. is focusing on currency manipulation as an unfair trade practice and that it will deal with China’s FX concerns in the context of broader trade talks,” Citigroup New York-based global markets economist Cesar Rojas wrote in a note.

Elsewhere, oil traded in New York fell below $70 a barrel on supply concerns. The Australian dollar advanced with bond yields after the unemployment rate dropped to the lowest in more than six years.

Bloomberg.com — Stocks in Asia tracked a strong U.S. session after earnings handed investors a welcome distraction from rising yields and trade tensions. The dollar ticked higher and Treasuries were steady.

Japanese, Chinese and Australian shares rose, helping lift the MSCI Asia Pacific Index of shares, which last week touched its lowest since May 2017. Chinese shares fluctuateds. Earnings cheer continued after the U.S. close, with profit at Netflix Inc. trouncing estimates. Ten-year Treasury yields traded around 3.16 percent. Oil edged higher amid simmering tensions between the Saudi Arabia and the U.S. over the disappearance of a prominent journalist. Hong Kong markets shut for a holiday Wednesday.

Better results at the start of earnings season from the likes of Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Johnson & Johnson and Netflix offered investors some breathing space from worries about the jump in benchmark Treasury yields to seven-year highs. Minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting should offer more clues Wednesday on the outlook for policy tightening into next year. Also helping sentiment this week was a budget agreement in Italy.

“The earnings that came through overnight definitely is something the market has been waiting for to really change the sentiment,” Jingyi Pan, IG Asia Market Strategist, told Bloomberg Television. “But nevertheless, as we move into the final quarter of the year and into 2019, the sentiment remains to be seen.”

Bloomberg.com — Stocks outside of Japan traded mixed Tuesday as the dollar inched higher alongside Treasury yields. The yen retreated and U.S. equity index futures advanced.

Japan’s shares outperformed Asian equities as the yen declined. Hong Kong and Chinese shares retreated, while Australia advanced amid thin volumes in most of the region. European futures signaled a muted open. The dollar edged up from close to a two-week low ahead of a U.S. Treasury currency-manipulation report expected this week. Oil ticked higher amid tensions between Saudi Arabia and the U.S. over the disappearance of a prominent journalist, while gold held gains.

Traders are grappling with continuing U.S.-China trade war rhetoric and geopolitical strains, while trying to gauge the direction of the American economy and third-quarter earnings results. Investors are looking for any signal from corporates hinting of a slowdown or stronger growth that could affect the pace of Federal Reserve rate hikes. Bank of America Corp. dropped in New York Monday after posting results, while earnings from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are due Tuesday.

Elsewhere, the New Zealand dollar jumped after inflation beat all economist estimates. The Turkish lira was set for an eighth day of gains after the country released U.S. pastor Andrew Brunson on Friday.

Bloomberg.com — A rebound in global equities Friday saw no traction at the start of the week, with markets in Asia dropping on Monday. The pound slipped as a Brexit deal hung in the balance with just days to go until a critical deadline.

Equities in Japan, Hong Kong and Australia bore the brunt as a risk-off mood returned in choppy trading, following a weekend of warnings on global economic fragility from finance chiefs meeting at an annual IMF gathering. China’s stocks fluctuated near a four-year low. International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde advised to be ready for more market volatility, speaking after the worst sell-off in global stocks since February. China’s ambassador to the U.S., in a rare American Sunday TV appearance, said his nation didn’t want a trade war but will respond.

Treasuries nudged higher amid the cautious tone in markets, with the yield on the 10-year benchmark slipping to 3.15 percent. The yen pushed higher alongside gold prices. Oil climbed amid rising tensions between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia over a missing journalist.

The gloomy remarks over the weekend contrasted with the modest recovery in stocks that was staged Friday, when news on U.S. bank earnings helped cool anxiety that corporate profits might not live up to lofty expectations. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Netflix are among those reporting this week. Also to come: minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting due on Wednesday, with investors keen to follow the debate on projections for further interest rate rises.

“Investors are now trying to decide how they should accurately price growth,” Fabiana Fedeli, Robeco’s global head of fundamental equities, said on Bloomberg TV in Hong Kong. “Now the key question investors are having is ‘am I really paying the right price for this growth because we think earnings are fantastic, but what’s going to happen ahead, are they still going up to the extent valuations would imply?”’

The pound fell as a surprise Sunday visit to Brussels by U.K. Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab failed to break the deadlock. People familiar with the situation said there were signs of progress, but officials on both sides played down the chances of an imminent agreement and denied a Politico report that a deal was done.