Asian Stocks Falter as Japan Warns on Yen Moves: Markets Wrap

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(Bloomberg) — Asian shares edged lower, kicking off a week that includes measures of inflation that will help guide bets on the outlook for global interest rates. The yen was steady after Japan’s top currency official ratcheted intervention rhetoric.

An index for the region’s stocks was set to slip for a third session on Monday, with equities in South Korea falling and those for Japan swinging between gains and losses. Contracts for Hong Kong shares pointed to declines while US equity futures were steady after the S&P 500 fell on Friday amid a large options expiry. 

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The moves come as markets are at a critical juncture for positioning into the second half of 2024 with the outlook for central bank policy rates from New Zealand to Japan and the US unclear. Inflation prints in Australia and Tokyo as well as the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge of consumer costs may help, after data showed US services activity picked up to the fastest pace in more than two years. 

The greenback was little changed while the Japanese yen was below 160 per dollar as Masato Kanda said officials are ready to intervene to support the currency 24-hours a day, if needed. Traders have been wary of an escalation in official rhetoric after the yen’s 1.6% slide this month, while retail investors appear to be reloading bets for a rebound.  

“We suspect the next round of intervention is likely to come after yen triggers buy orders perched above the late April 160.20ish high,” Tony Sycamore, market analyst at IG Australia in Sydney, said. 

China’s currency fixing is likely to be a big focus for investors on Monday, after the country’s assets sold off again last week as policymakers showed no urgency to roll out more stimulus. The yuan slid to its lowest in seven months, and the benchmark Shanghai composite index fell below the 3,000 level on Friday for the first time since March. A gauge of Asian currencies versus the dollar is nearing its lowest since November 2022.

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Seperately, China and the European Union have agreed to start talks on the bloc’s plans to impose tariffs on electric vehicles imported from the Asian nation. 

This week, while parsing inflation data, traders will also be keeping watch on rising political risks. The first UK prime ministerial and US presidential debates are scheduled and the first round of voting in the French legislative election is set to take place this coming weekend.

“While the debate may not stoke market volatility, it will be symbolic given it’s the earliest live US debate since 1960, and Biden will be out to prove a point to the American voters,” said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone Group in Melbourne. “As the gloves come off it could get ugly on the podium, and we watch to see if the debate affects polling.”

Treasury 10-year yields were steady in Asia after closing little changed at 4.26% on Friday after the S&P Global’s June preliminary US manufacturing and services PMIs beat estimates. The stronger data unwound an earlier rally in Treasuries following softer European PMI data. France’s risk premium over Germany closed at the highest since 2012. 

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Triple Witching

The S&P 500 fell 0.2% on Friday as an estimated that $5.5 trillion of options expired during the quarterly event ominously known as “triple witching.” Nvidia Corp. played an added role, with the value of contracts tied to the chipmaker the second-largest of any underlying asset, lagging only the S&P 500.

Traders and strategists are beginning question how long this year’s rally can persist as bond and currency markets gyrate from shifting bets on central bank rate cuts and election uncertainty in Europe. A gauge of global equities has climbed 2.3% this quarter, set for a third straight quarterly gain while US stocks have notched fresh highs this month amid the AI frenzy. 

At a stock level, a correction is already starting to play out as market breadth is extremely weak with momentum for a few shares continuing almost unabated, according to Morgan Stanley. That may remain into the second half however until there’s a change in the macro outlook, such as inflation signaling the need for a rate hike or growth materially slows, Michael Wilson, chief US stock strategist wrote in a note to clients on Sunday. 

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In commodities, oil extended Friday’s decline toward $80 a barrel amid a stronger greenback and a technical indicator suggesting the recent rally has gone too far. Gold fell amid a re-think of the Fed’s rate cut outlook.

Key events this week: 

• BOJ issues Summary of Opinions from June policy meeting, Monday
• Singapore CPI, Monday
• Taiwan jobless rate, industrial production, Monday
• Argentina unemployment, GDP, Monday
• Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem speaks, Monday
• San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly speaks, Monday
• Fed Governor Christopher Waller speaks, Monday
• Australia consumer confidence, Tuesday
• Malaysia CPI, Tuesday
• Canada CPI, Tuesday
• Spain GDP, Tuesday
• US Conference Board consumer confidence, Tuesday
• Fed Governor Lisa Cook, Fed Governor Michelle Bowman speaks, Tuesday
• Australia CPI, Wednesday
• UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Keir Starmer debate, Wednesday
• Bank of Finland’s 3rd International Monetary Policy Conference begins, Wednesday
• RBA Deputy Governor Andrew Hauser speaks, Thursday
• Japan retail sales, Thursday
• Philippines rate decision, Thursday
• China industrial profits, Thursday
• Eurozone economic confidence, consumer confidence, Thursday
• BOE releases financial stability report, Thursday
• Sweden rate decision, Thursday
• Turkey rate decision, Thursday
• US durable goods, initial jobless claims, GDP, wholesale inventories, Thursday
• Mexico unemployment, trade, rate decision, Thursday
• Japan Tokyo CPI, unemployment, industrial production, Friday
• UK GDP, Friday
• France CPI, Friday
• Italy CPI, Friday
• Spain CPI, Friday
• Czech Republic GDP, Friday
• US PCE inflation, spending and income, University of Michigan consumer sentiment, Friday
• Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin speaks, Friday
• Brazil unemployment, Friday
• Chile industrial production, unemployment, Friday
• Colombia unemployment, rate decision, Friday

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Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• S&P 500 futures were little changed as of 9:20 a.m. Tokyo time
• Hang Seng futures fell 0.3%
• Japan’s Topix rose 0.3%
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.2%
• Euro Stoxx 50 futures fell 0.7%

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
• The euro was little changed at $1.0688
• The Japanese yen was little changed at 159.88 per dollar
• The offshore yuan was little changed at 7.2913 per dollar
• The Australian dollar was little changed at $0.6637

Cryptocurrencies

• Bitcoin fell 1% to $63,056.27
• Ether fell 0.4% to $3,419.03

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.25%
• Australia’s 10-year yield was little changed at 4.21%

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.4% to $80.39 a barrel
• Spot gold was little changed

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

—With assistance from Aya Wagatsuma.

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