Asian Stocks to Slip With Trade, Fed in Focus

December 10, 2019 editor

(Dec 10): Asian stocks looked set to dip Tuesday as investors turned cautious ahead of the week’s potential catalysts, from central bank meetings to a looming tariff deadline. Yields on 10-year Treasuries edged lower.

Futures slipped in Japan and Hong Kong. Australia opened slightly weaker. S&P 500 futures were flat after the benchmark ended at session lows in below-average volumes as investors awaited news on whether Washington will go ahead with a planned Dec. 15 tariff hike. European stocks retreated. The dollar was lower against major peers. Oil was steady near the highest close since September.

With time running out for the U.S. and China to reach a deal that would ward off an escalation in tariffs, markets are looking for any signs of progress ahead. Also on the radar are policy meetings at the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank that may offer clues on whether more monetary easing is in store in 2020.

Elsewhere, the pound edged higher as polls continued to show the U.K. Conservative Party on course to win a majority in Thursday’s election, which would likely mean Britain leaving the European Union by Jan. 31.

Here are some key events to watch this week:

The Federal Reserve decides on interest rates on Wednesday, followed by a press briefing from Chairman Jerome Powell.
China reports on inflation Tuesday, and data on credit growth is due at some point in the coming week
The next European Central Bank policy decision is on Thursday.
The U.K. holds a general election Thursday.

These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks:

Nikkei 225 futures fell 0.3%.
S&P/ASX 200 Index lost 0.2%.
Hang Seng Index futures fell 0.2%.
S&P 500 futures were little changed as of 8:22 a.m. in Tokyo. The S&P 500 Index declined 0.2%.

Currencies:

The yen was little changed at 108.57 per dollar.
The offshore yuan traded at 7.0359 per dollar.
The euro was little changed at $1.1065.
The British pound was at $1.3145.

Bonds:

The yield on 10-year Treasuries dipped more than one basis point to 1.82%.
Australia’s 10-year bond yield fell more than four basis points to 1.11%.

Commodities:

West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.3% to $58.84 a barrel.
Gold was little changed at $1,461.84 an ounce.

Source: TheEdgeMarkets