Asia Stocks Mixed After Rally; Treasuries Steady: Markets Wrap
Bloomberg.com — Asian stocks struggled for direction after the recent rally as investors assessed the latest developments on the Trump administration’s trade policies. The dollar and Treasury yields stabilized after gains.
Equities climbed in Japan and Australia, while Hong Kong shares were choppy and Chinese stocks slipped. Earlier, the S&P 500 Index fluctuated throughout its session, rising past 2,900 for the first time before slipping back below that level. Rate-sensitive shares retreated as the 10-year Treasury yield moved toward 2.90 percent. The Canadian dollar advanced on a report the country was ready to make concessions on its dairy market to be included in any North American trade deal.
Gains for equities are being tested after U.S. stocks hit a fresh all-time high and Chinese shares rebounded off this month’s lows amid signs of central bank support. Appetite for risk assets remain fragile as hopes for a trade breakthrough between America and China are questioned.
“We don’t know where China is on this,” David Ader, chief market strategist at Informa Financial Intelligence, said on Bloomberg Television. “I tend to be more pessimistic that we are going to come away with trade deals that are going to make everybody satisfied, but we are trading headlines, we are trading the sensitivity to those headlines, so for the moment it looks good.”