Asian stocks drive lower in choppy markets


MSCI’s broadest index of stocks in the Asia-Pacific region excluding Japan fell 0.46%, reversing some of the previous day’s 1.8% gain, and closing in on a two-month low. years last week.

Asian tech stocks such as Alibaba Samsung and Nintendo contributed to the decline, after US stock markets closed lower overnight on reports that Apple plans to slow hiring and spending growth at home. next year. [.N]

Still, in a sign that markets are struggling to find firm direction, US S&P and Nasdaq futures each rose around 0.3% in early Asian trading, and Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.8% after t on leave for Monday’s rally.

“It’s kind of like ‘painting by numbers’ right now, you have a picture to fill in, but we don’t have all the colors yet,” said Kerry Craig, global market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management.

“A few things are missing (like) the direction of the labor market and the unemployment rate in the United States, and if central banks are going to step back and say ‘this is the peak of inflation and we don’t we don’t have to be so hawkish’, or ‘we’re going to be really aggressive’.”

Markets expect a big 75 basis point interest rate hike at the US Federal Reserve meeting next week, moving away from flirting with the possibility of a huge 100 basis point hike , although market pricing still indicates a 30% probability, according to the CME’s Fedwatch tool.

The pullback from expectations of 100 basis points at the end of last week allowed equities to gain ground in the United States on Friday and in Asia and Europe on Monday.

The European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan both meet on Thursday. The ECB is expected to start raising rates from their pandemic-era lows by increasing 25 basis points, while the ultra-soft Bank of Japan is unlikely to make big changes.

“In the background we have the earnings season in the US and we expect that to be another source of pressure on the markets as we believe the full year forecast of around 9% to 10 % of the United States is too high,” said Craig.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc warned overnight that it could slow hiring and cut spending as the economic outlook worsens after reporting a 48% drop in quarterly profit. But, as it beat analysts’ expectations, its shares rose 2.5%.

In currency markets, the dollar continued its slow decline from the two-decade peak reached last week.

The euro settled at $1.0143, after briefly dipping below the US dollar last week for the first time since 2002, and the dollar bought 138.34 Japanese yen, below its highest level in 24 139.39 years also reached last week.

The benchmark US 10-year yield was 2.9781%, having struggled so far this month to move away either way from the 3% level.

The two-year yield was 3.1702%.

Oil, another asset class that has struggled to find a clear direction, was trading flat after paring initial losses, after gaining 5% overnight.

Brent crude oil was $106.30 a barrel, and US crude oil was $102.58. Spot gold remained soft at $1,706 an ounce.



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