Asia stocks see modest gains; US futures dip
The bulk of Asian gains came in Japan and Hong Kong WednesdayU.S. equity futures dipped after the S&P 500 Index jumped the most since August on Tuesday
Asian stocks headed for their first back-to-back daily gain since fears about the coronavirus deepened last month, with some investors optimistic the impact to the global economy will prove short-lived. Bond yields climbed.
The bulk of Asian gains came in Japan and Hong Kong Wednesday, with a muted open in Shanghai and modest advances in Sydney and Seoul. U.S. equity futures dipped after the S&P 500 Index jumped the most since August on Tuesday, when technology stocks completed a full recovery of the losses sustained in the recent sell-off. The offshore yuan retained the bulk of its gains from Tuesday. Australia’s 10-year bond yield rose back to 1%.
While investors continue to struggle assessing the economic impact of the deadly coronavirus, some are taking solace from intervention by Chinese authorities to provide support to its financial system. The risk to growth remains, with travel restrictions in place and Macau shutting its casinos for another two weeks. Meantime, earnings continue to roll in.
“These type of dislocations tend to be short-lived, and do tend to produce very good entry points and buying opportunities," Lisa Shalett, chief investment officer for wealth management at Morgan Stanley, told Bloomberg TV.
Elsewhere, West Texas crude oil edged higher, though remained below $50 a barrel after closing at that level for the first time in a year amid concern the coronavirus will crimp demand.
In the 2020 U.S. presidential election race, Pete Buttigieg was leading narrowly in long-delayed, and partial, results in the Iowa caucuses Tuesday.
Here are some key events coming up:
Euro-zone PMI data in its final version will be released Wednesday.
The Reserve Bank of India’s interest rate decision is due Thursday.
The U.S. employment report for January is set for Friday release.
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
Japan’s Topix index rose 0.8% as of 9:22 a.m. in Tokyo.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 0.7%.
The Shanghai Composite rose 0.3%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed 0.4%.
South Korea’s Kospi index added 0.3%.
Futures on the S&P 500 slipped 0.2%. The S&P 500 jumped 1.5% in New York on Tuesday and the Nasdaq 100 added 2.3%.
Currencies
The yen was at 109.42 per dollar, little changed.
The offshore yuan was at 7.0008 per dollar.
The euro bought $1.1042, little changed.
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries remained at 1.60%.
Australia’s 10-year yield rose about eight basis points to 1%.
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude added 0.7% to $49.96 a barrel.
Gold rose 0.1% to $1,555.04 an ounce after sliding 1.5% Tuesday.
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