Stocks and bonds in Asia traded lower Wednesday as traders assessed the impact of the jump in US Treasury yields overnight and comments from a Federal Reserve speaker led to receding bets for Fed rate cuts. MSCI’s Asia Pacific Index fell for a second day, as shares from Hong Kong to Japan and Australia dropped. A selloff in Australian bonds deepened after inflation figures topped estimates, while Japanese benchmark yields hit their highest since 2011. Treasuries steadied in Asia after falling on a pair of weak US note sales and ahead of the Fed’s favorite price gauge due later this week. China’s yuan slid to the lowest since November amid signs policymakers are letting the currency drop against a resilient dollar. Emerging Asian currencies, including South Korea’s won and Malaysia’s ringgit also weakened. The yen held near an almost 16-year low against the pound. The Japanese currency is sliding faster against the euro than the dollar as speculation grows that the European Central Bank will take it slow in cutting interest rates because inflation remains elevated. Oil extended gains as another attack in the Red Sea added to heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East ahead of an OPEC+ meeting on the weekend. West Texas Intermediate climbed above $80 a barrel, while Brent futures advanced 0.4%. In the corporate news, Lenovo Group said it plans to sell $2 billion worth of zero-coupon convertible bonds to Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the latest Chinese company to seek capital through such an issue within a matter of days. As Wall Street returned from the holiday weekend, the “T+1” rule came into effect — making US equities settle in one day rather than two. Investors also waded through remarks from Fed ‘s Kashkari, who said the central bank’s policy stance is restrictive, but officials haven’t entirely ruled out additional rate hikes. Bond traders who are stuck in a waiting game over Fed rate policy may soon get some welcome support. Starting on Wednesday, and for the first time since the early 2000s, the Treasury Department will launch a series of buybacks targeting seasoned and harder-to-trade debt. Then in June, the US central bank is set to begin tapering the pace of its balance-sheet unwind, known as quantitative tightening, or QT. The Fed’s first-line inflation gauge is about to show some modest relief from stubborn price pressures, corroborating central bankers’ prudence about the timing of interest-rate cuts. Economists expect the personal consumption expenditures price index minus food and energy — due on Friday — to rise 0.2% in April. That would mark the smallest advance so far this year for the measure, which provides a better snapshot of underlying inflation. Swap contracts are currently pricing in around 30 basis points of Fed rate cuts for all of 2024 — which equates to one reduction as the Fed moves have historically been increments of 25 basis points. US After Hours AAL -8.3% falls on lowered guidance; CAVA -2.6% lower on earnings; HEI +3.3%, BOX +2% higher on earnings; HOOD +5.3% on new $1 bln share repurchase authorization.
Nikkei -0.79% Hang Seng -1.78% CSI +0.11% Shanghai -0.01% Shenzen +0.25%
Eur$ 1.0847 CNH 7.2658 CNY 7.2484 JPY 157.26 GBP 1.2750 CHF 0.9125 RUB 88.5748 TRY 32.2712 WTI$ 80.13 +0.38% Gold 2,359 -0.11% BTC 68,742 +0.72% ETH 3,865 +0.95%
S&P -0.38% Nasdaq -0.36% EuroStoxx -0.26% FTSE -0.50% Dax -0.46% SMI -0.34%
Macro :
- Germany Has Only Drawn 22% of Its Recovery Fund Allotment: HB
- BlackRock’s $20 Billion ETF Is Now World’s Largest Bitcoin Fund
Keep an eye on :
Keep an eye on :
- ADENO : Adevinta 1Q Ebitda Misses Estimates
- AT1 GY : Aroundtown 1Q Adjusted Ebitda EU247.4M Vs. EU246.0M Y/y
- BMPS IM : Monte Paschi Accounts Probed Over Treatment of Bad Loans: MF
- EN FP : Bouygues Says SFR, La Poste Have Differences on Telecom Deal
- DARK LN : To Join FTSE 100
- ROO LN : Deliveroo Shares Gain After Betaville ‘Uncooked Alert’
- DTE GY : Deutsche Telekom, Swisscom, Telenor Front-Runners for AI Boost
- FWRD US : Activist Investor Irenic Builds Stake in Forward Air -- WSJ
- HES US : Hess Unlikely to Get Another Bidder Post-Shareholder OK: React
- IWG LN : International Workplace Group Holder Offers ~35m Shares: Terms, Offered @ GBp196.50/share
- MRX US : Marex Group Shares Rise to Fresh Highs After Pact With Stifel
- MRK US : Merck Nears $1.3 Billion Deal for Eye-Drug Company EyeBio -- WSJ
- MCHP US : Microchip to Offer $1.1 Billion of Convertible Senior Notes
- OCDO LN : to leave FTSE 100
- ORSTED DC : Orsted to Pay New Jersey $125 Million for Scrapped Wind Projects
- ROG SW : Roche’s Inavolisib Granted Priority Review by US FDA
- RWE GY : SSE, RWE See Earnings Boost in Europe's AI Power Demand Surge
- IDS LN : Royal Mail Parent Set to Recommend Kretinsky Offer: Reuters
- SCYR SM : Sacyr Enters Derivatives Agreement Over Own Shares
- SCYR SM : Sacyr Enters Derivatives Agreement Over Own Shares
- SAND SS : Sandvik's SMR Unit May Get Upside From Miner Spending: BI Focus
- SBBB SS : Landlord SBB Sets Date for Payout of Postponed Dividend
- STJ LN : to leave FTSE 100
- SHEL LN : Shell Plans Job Cuts in Offshore Wind Business in Green Retrench
- SPI AV : S Immo in Pact to Sell German Portfolio at Total Value of EU255m
- SSE LN : SSE, RWE See Earnings Boost in Europe's AI Power Demand Surge
- STR AV : Strabag Order Book EU24.55B Vs. EU24.51B Y/y
- SCMN SW : Deutsche Telekom, Swisscom, Telenor Front-Runners for AI Boost
- VTY LN : To Join FTSE 100
- VOW GY : VW to Build €20,000 EVs On Its Own, Forgoing Partnerships
- VOW GY : US Authorities Cite Labor Violations at Volkswagen Mexico Plant
- VOW GY : Volkswagen CEO Faces Investor Calls to Sharpen EV Strategy
- WAY US : Waystar, Novelis Lead the Pack as IPO Market Warms Up: ECM Watch