Latest News

Asia stocks combined as soaring dollar stops briefly

Asian stocks crept greater in a mixed session on Thursday, while the dollar took a. breather and bond markets steadied as investors stepped back to. examine the rates of interest outlook.

Oil nursed its sharpest fall in two-and-a-half months on. demand worries and the absence, so far, of an obvious Israeli or. U.S. action to Iran's weekend attack.

Experts do not anticipate significant brand-new sanctions on Iranian. oil, although the U.S. was set to reimpose oil sanctions on. Venezuela which steadied Brent crude futures at $87.37 a. barrel after Wednesday's $2.70-a-barrel drop.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan. rose 0.4% however local relocations were irregular, with. gains in South Korea and Australia but falls elsewhere. Japan's Nikkei fell 0.4% and with a drop of 4.3% so far. today is considering its largest weekly loss because December 2022.

Wall Street indexes fell over night and S&P 500 futures. were flat in early Asia trade. The dollar dipped slightly. overnight and news of an unusual trilateral arrangement in between. the U.S., Japan and Korea to consult closely on forex. left the door open to intervention to slow dollar gains in Asia.

U.S. short-term rate of interest expectations were little. changed however selling of longer-dated bonds eased off, and 10-year. U.S. Treasury yields fell 7.2 basis points to 4.59%. and two-year yields pulled back after touching 5%.

I think they are little pullbacks from extended relocations,. stated Anshul Sidher, global head of markets at ANZ in Singapore,. adding traders are carefully viewing bonds and the dollar to. drive the mood.

I 'd anticipate (oil) to be range bound subject to (Middle East). escalations from where we are now, he stated.

Australian stocks looked set to snap 5 successive. sessions of losses with the ASX 200 up 0.5% prior to. midday in Sydney. On Wednesday weaker-than-expected earnings at. chipmaking provider ASML drove shares lower and. Thursday's focus will be on revenues at Taiwan Semiconductor. Production Co. TSMC shares fell 1% in early trade.

DOLLAR TIME OUT

Stock market nerves follow a wave of bond selling and dollar. buying as sticky U.S. inflation and a shift in tone at the. Federal Reserve pointed to persistently high U.S. rates. The. rates-sensitive Nasdaq is down 3% so far this week.

The euro is under pressure as European. policymakers are preparing to cut rates in two months time,. though at $1.0665 it is off this week's five-month lows.

The Australian dollar took a little knock to $0.6435. from data revealing an unexpected fall in Australian work in. March.

The yen traded at 154.22 per dollar, near a. three-decade low, and traders are eyeing a breach of 155 as a. possible trigger for intervention.

China is likely to welcome an end to yen devaluation,. said Bank of Singapore strategist Moh Siong Sim in a note to. clients.

Our company believe the problem of whether Japan will step in to. limit yen weak point will matter to the People's Bank of China's. evaluation of the suitable level to stabilise the (yuan).

China's yuan hovered at 7.2369 per dollar. It is. down 1.8% versus the dollar this year and today's weakening. of its trading band has been taken as a signal that Chinese. authorities will endure further softness.

Elsewhere in commodity markets European gas costs. have retreated from three-month highs and sharp. rallies in metal prices have actually stopped briefly, though not reversed.

Three-month London copper is up 12% this year and. traded at $9,584 per tonne overnight. Singapore iron ore. held gains at simply over $110 a tonne.

Gold is just listed below recently's record high at $2,366. an ounce.

A handful of U.S. and European central bankers speak later. on Thursday. U.S. jobless claims information is due and revenues at. Blackstone and Netflix will be carefully watched.

(source: Reuters)