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    Asian Stocks Open Mixed After 2019's Worst Week: Markets Wrap

    Asian stocks kicked off Monday mixed following the worst week for global equities since mid-December. The dollar nudged up after Friday’s retreat.

    Shares in Japan and South Korea posted modest gains, while those in Australia slipped back. Ten-year Treasury yields were little changed near their lowest in two months as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell reiterated he is in no hurry to change interest rates. S&P 500 Index futures ticked lower after U.S. stocks dipped Friday on mixed U.S. employment data. The pound retreated as another key Brexit vote looms in parliament, on Prime Minister Theresa May’s revised deal.

    Investors are cautious after a strong start to the year for risk assets stalled amid signs of struggling global growth. Next up will be a slew of data from China this week that could give fresh clues on the impact of its easing policy. The Bank of Japan will also meet to set policy. On the trade front, China and the U.S. are in general agreement on many crucial issues and have held meaningful discussions on foreign exchange, People’s Bank of China Governor Yi Gang said.

    “You’re seeing PMIs come down around the world, you’re seeing a lot of economic surprise indices showing that global growth is slowing,” Kevin Nicholson, chief market strategist at Riverfront Investment Group, told Bloomberg TV from Richmond, Virginia. “If we see a trade deal done and you see China stimulus start to come through, then a lot of these things will start to turn around.”

    Elsewhere, Hong Kong faces the likelihood of rising borrowing costs after the city’s de facto central bank intervened to defend its currency peg for the first time since August. Boeing Co. shares will be closely watched after the Sunday crash of one its 737 Max, operated by Ethiopian Airlines,rattled confidence in the U.S. manufacturer’s best-selling jet with the second deadly accident for the model in five months.

    Crude oil prices were a touch firmer on Monday ahead of the release this week of the IEA’s Oil 2019 report and OPEC’s monthly market report.

    Here are some key events coming up:

    • Chinese retail sales, investment, credit and industrial production data for January and February are all scheduled for release this week. The National People’s Congress is set to wrap up with a speech on Friday from Premier Li Keqiang.
    • U.K. House of Commons votes Tuesday on May’s revised Brexit deal, 20 days before Britain is scheduled to leave the EU.
    • U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to release his proposed fiscal 2020 budget on Monday. Its arrival is about a month later than usual due to the lengthy partial government shutdown.
    • Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda will speak on Friday, after he and his board meet to decide on monetary policy. No change in stimulus settings is anticipated, though there’s likely to be a discussion of whether or not to downgrade assessments of industrial production, exports and overseas economies.

    These are the latest moves in markets:

    Stocks

    • Japan’s Topix index rose 0.2 percent as of 9:02 a,m, in Tokyo.
    • South Korea’s Kospi added 0.2 percent.
    • Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 0.3 percent.
    • Hang Seng Index futures dipped 0.4 percent late Friday.
    • Futures on the S&P 500 Index slid 0.1 percent. The underlying gauge fell 0.2 percent Friday.

    Currencies

    • The yen rose 0.1 percent to 111.08 per dollar.
    • The offshore yuan was flat at 6.7325 per dollar.
    • The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was flat after slipping 0.3 percent on Friday.
    • The euro held at $1.1232.
    • The British pound fell 0.2 percent to $1.2985.

    Bonds

    • The yield on 10-year Treasuries held at 2.63 percent.
    • Australia’s 10-year bond yield dipped two basis points to 2.01 percent.

    Commodities

    • West Texas Intermediate crude added 0.2 percent to $56.18 a barrel.
    • Gold lost 0.1 percent to $1,297.22 an ounce.

    Source Bloomberg

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