Solid Gold Berjangka | Asia Stocks Mixed After Tame US CPI; Dollar Steady
Shares in Asia fluctuate after US stocks ended steady on Thursday, as investors balanced cooling inflation with the prospect interest rates will remain elevated.
Australian equities pared early declines while mainland China and Hong Kong shares whipsawed after the opening bell. US equity futures gained ground after the S&P 500 eroded an early advance to close flat, while the Nasdaq 100 added 0.2%. The Kospi Index in South Korea traded slightly higher.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd shares rallied after the company beat revenue forecasts. A decline for Country Garden Holdings Co. placed the company’s stocks on track for a record close. The Chinese developer expects to report a multibillion-dollar loss for the first half of this year, as it provided more specifics to its recent forecast that helped fuel stock and bond declines.
Traders will be keeping a wary eye on the yen and the key 145 level versus the dollar, with a holiday in Tokyo potentially contributing to volatility as volume thins. The persistently wide yield gap between Japan and the US is keeping the yen weak and within sight of levels that triggered intervention by the finance ministry last year.
US inflation data released Thursday was broadly in line with expectations. The core measure that excludes food and energy registered the smallest back-to-back increase in more than two years, offering support to risk assets. Despite this, Francisco President Mary Daly told Yahoo! Finance the central bank still has “more work to do” to combat rising prices.
In currencies, the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was flat after rising Thursday. The greenback is set to extend its weekly gains to four, the longest such streak since February. Meanwhile, the Australian dollar’s continued depreciation is starting to increase fears of inflation.
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed. The euro rose 0.1% to $1.0995. The Japanese yen was little changed at 144.65 per dollar.
The offshore yuan was little changed at 7.2362 per dollar. The Australian dollar rose 0.2% to $0.6531.
Source: Bloomberg
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