(Bloomberg) — Equities were broadly lower in Asia and Treasuries steadied after a Wednesday rally ahead of the Federal Reserve’s key inflation metric that will help identify the path forward for interest rates.
Most Read from Bloomberg
Australian, Japanese and South Korean shares all fell Thursday while stocks in China climbed following sweeping measures to support Hong Kong’s real estate sector. US stock futures ticked lower in early Asian trading after small losses for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 on Wednesday.
The tone from Beijing has shifted recently and gains over the past two weeks in Chinese stocks could build into a rebound, according to Brendan Ahern, chief investment officer for Krane Fund Advisors LLC, speaking on Bloomberg Television. “Hopefully that trend does continue. If we can make money in China, more money will flow back in,” he said.
Bitcoin extended gains after surging above $60,000 for the first time in more than two years on Wednesday, reflecting new demand from exchange traded funds. The currency almost touched $64,000 on Wednesday. The 2021 record high is just below $69,000.
Notable moves in Asian equities included a jump for Japanese lender Aozora Bank Ltd. after a fund linked to activist investor Yoshiko Murakami reported a shareholding.
Declines for US stocks on Wednesday came as data showed strong consumer spending despite a small revision to US gross domestic product growth in the fourth quarter of 2023. The report comes ahead of the Fed’s favored inflation gauge due Thursday and was broadly supportive of the caution voiced by Fed officials in recent weeks.
US stocks have reached a significant inflection point — poised to either “top out or broaden out,” according to Craig Johnson at Piper Sandler. Technical evidence suggests the next 10% move in the equity market is likely lower than higher, he added.
Treasuries were steady in Asia after a rally Wednesday saw the 10-year yield falling four basis points and the policy-sensitive two-year slipping six basis points. Australian yields echoed the move in early Asian trading while New Zealand yields were largely unchanged.
Foreign exchange markets were little changed early Thursday, with the Japanese yen leading gains against the dollar among a Group-of-10 peers. The greenback gained against most major currencies Wednesday, most notably the New Zealand dollar, which fell 1.2% against the US currency.
In Asia, economic reports due Thursday include fourth-quarter GDP data for India, the current account balance in Thailand, and inflation data for Sri Lanka and Vietnam.
New York Fed President John Williams said Wednesday the central bank has “a ways to go,” in its battle against inflation and Atlanta Fed chief Raphael Bostic urged patience in regard to policy tweaks. Overall, recent comments from Fed officials underscore the importance of data in guiding policy moves.
Following a jump in both the consumer and the producer price indexes, Thursday’s core personal consumption expenditures gauge will likely highlight the bumpy path the central bank faces in achieving its 2% target. The PCE is seen validating recent commentary from officials showing no rush to ease monetary policy.
“The recent data is ‘noise’ and should be ignored outside of its impact for very short-term market movements,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Independent Advisor Alliance. “We are more interested in the PCE data.”
Traders are currently pricing around 80 basis points of easing by year-end — almost in line with what officials in December indicated as the likeliest outcome. That would equate to three cuts in 2024 — as the Fed moves have historically been increments of 25 basis points. To put things in perspective, swaps were projecting almost 150 basis points of cuts this year at the start of February.
In commodities, oil extended declines Thursday following a fall in prices for West Texas Intermediate in the previous session. Gold also stabilized after a rally in the prior session to trade around $2,035 per ounce.
Key Events This Week:
-
Germany CPI, unemployment, Thursday
-
US consumer income, PCE deflator, initial jobless claims, Thursday
-
Fed’s Austan Goolsbee, Raphael Bostic and Loretta Mester speak, Thursday
-
China official PMI, Caixin manufacturing PMI, Friday
-
Eurozone S&P Global Manufacturing PMI, CPI, unemployment, Friday
-
BOE chief economist Huw Pill speaks, Friday
-
US construction spending, ISM Manufacturing, University of Michigan consumer sentiment, Friday
-
Fed’s Raphael Bostic and Mary Daly speak, Friday
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
-
S&P 500 futures were little changed as of 10:50 a.m. Tokyo time
-
Nikkei 225 futures (OSE) fell 0.5%
-
Japan’s Topix fell 0.5%
-
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was little changed
-
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was little changed
-
The Shanghai Composite rose 0.5%
-
Euro Stoxx 50 futures were little changed
Currencies
-
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
-
The euro was little changed at $1.0833
-
The Japanese yen rose 0.3% to 150.31 per dollar
-
The offshore yuan was little changed at 7.2085 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
-
Bitcoin rose 1.5% to $61,471.51
-
Ether rose 2.9% to $3,419.89
Bonds
Commodities
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.