Stocks Mixed as Trade Worries Return; Yen Jumps: Markets Wrap

Bloomberg.com — A drop in Japanese shares dominated an otherwise mixed session for Asian equities, as the yen extended gains amid more twists and turns on trade and lingering emerging-market risks. The dollar steadied and 10-year Treasury yields pared a decline below 3 percent.

Automakers were the biggest drag on the Topix index, as the yen surged after President Donald Trump ordered consideration of a probe into automobile imports. Shares fell in China and South Korea, and were little changed in Australia and Hong Kong. All major U.S. equity benchmarks rose Wednesday after minutes from the most recent Federal Reserve meeting showed American central bankers in no hurry to accelerate the pace of rate hikes even as the economy continues to improve. Oil slipped.

Traders are trying to navigate escalating geopolitical and trade risks, from Trump’s decision to back away from a recently announced trade agreement with China to uncertainty about whether a planned summit meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will go ahead. Meanwhile, questions are swirling around the Italian populist government’s economic policies and shaky emerging markets after Turkey raised rates to halt a slide in the lira.

Elsewhere, most Asian emerging-market currencies were little changed, while many bonds advanced. The euro steadied after falling to a six-month low.