Stock Rally Stalls in Asia, Bonds Dip as Oil Gains - Asia Market Wrap
Asian stocks slipped as enthusiasm from Wall Street’s record-setting rally failed to carry into the region. MSCI’s Asia-Pacific index fell around 0.7%, with technology shares in South Korea and Hong Kong leading declines, while US equity futures also pared earlier gains. Treasuries weakened as oil prices climbed, with the US 10-year yield rising around 3 bps to 5.31%. The Dollar strengthened against most major peers, while Bitcoin fell around 1.7% to about $84,100. Brent crude rose around 1% to roughly $101.60 a barrel after Iran increased attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. Higher energy prices added pressure to government bonds, while French bond futures underperformed German equivalents as investors continued to assess France’s fiscal outlook. Asian markets also reflected a widening divergence between Taiwanese and South Korean equities, with the Taiex outperforming the Kospi by around 23 percentage points last quarter. Samsung Electronics is due to report preliminary earnings on Thursday, with expectations for its strongest quarterly profit in years. Elsewhere, India’s central bank raised interest rates for the first time in nearly four years and shifted its policy stan
Asian stocks slipped as enthusiasm from Wall Street’s record-setting rally failed to carry into the region. 7%, with technology shares in South Korea and Hong Kong leading declines, while US equity futures also pared earlier gains. 31%. 7% to about $84,100.
60 a barrel after Iran increased attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. Higher energy prices added pressure to government bonds, while French bond futures underperformed German equivalents as investors continued to assess France’s fiscal outlook. Asian markets also reflected a widening divergence between Taiwanese and South Korean equities, with the Taiex outperforming the Kospi by around 23 percentage points last quarter. Samsung Electronics is due to report preliminary earnings on Thursday, with expectations for its strongest quarterly profit in years.
Elsewhere, India’s central bank raised interest rates for the first time in nearly four years and shifted its policy stance toward calibrated tightening, signalling that further increases remain possible. Despite record highs in US stocks, elevated oil prices, multi-year bond yields and volatile currency markets continued to dominate investor attention.