(Bloomberg) – European stock futures fell while US contracts and stocks gained ground in China, providing a mixed picture for global equities. The yen and gold rose to their highest levels in more than six months.
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Contracts for the Euro Stoxx 50 index fell to take the shine off a 1.7% jump for the benchmark on Monday. Futures for the S&P 500 rose after Tuesday’s whiplash. Equities across Asia were mixed as Hong Kong and mainland China stocks rallied after initial declines, while South Korean and Australian stocks fell.
Mixed trading in stocks followed last year’s sharp swings, which saw global equities lose 20% in value, their worst run since the financial crisis. Bonds fell 16%, the biggest drop for a leading metric since at least 1990, as central banks hiked interest rates to curb inflation.
“We’re starting the year with tight financial conditions, a potential inflationary push from China, which means we’re likely to have to go into the beginning of this calendar year relatively cautiously across the portfolio,” said Marc Franklin, Senior Portfolio Manager for Manulife Investment Management, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television.
The yen is up as much as 1% against the greenback to hit 129.52 per dollar – its highest level since May. It gained against all of its Group 10 peers, notably against the commodity currencies of Australia, New Zealand and Canada. The rise follows the Bank of Japan’s continued efforts to push down government bond yields, with the stronger yen suggesting traders believe the central bank will be forced to scale back its easy monetary stance.
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The dollar traded flat and there were no cash Treasuries trading in Asia as Japanese markets closed on Tuesday. Gold rose about 1% to above $1,840 an ounce for the first time since June.
China’s economy sparked concern among investors after ending the year on a big slump as business and consumer spending slumped in December, with further disruption likely in the early months of the year as Covid infections spread across the country gain weight.
Elsewhere, oil prices fluctuated while US natural gas fell on expectations that warmer weather would reduce heating demand. A private Chinese purchasing managers’ index fell for the fifth straight month. Other data on Tuesday’s list includes German jobless claims.
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Some of the key movements in the markets:
stocks
S&P 500 futures were up 0.3% as of 3:22 p.m. Tokyo time
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index fell 1.3%
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 2.1%
The Shanghai Composite rose 0.9%
Euro Stoxx 50 futures down 0.6%
currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
The euro was little changed at $1.0665
The Japanese yen rose 0.9% to 129.68 per dollar
The offshore yuan rose 0.6% to 6.8867 per dollar
cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin was little changed at $16,741.9
Ether was little changed at $1,218.34
Bind
raw materials
West Texas Intermediate crude was up 0.1% to $80.36 a barrel
Spot gold rose 1% to $1,843.05 an ounce
This story was created with the support of Bloomberg Automation.
–Assisted by Jason Scott and Tassia Sipahutar.
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