Asia Pacific markets mixed, China supports Yuan
Asian equities traded within narrow ranges early Monday as investors looked ahead to a busy week of economic data including the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge. China’s currency pared some of Friday’s losses following support by authorities.
Shares in Australia and Hong Kong edged higher, while those in Japan and mainland China slipped. US equity futures were little changed after a muted end to the week on Wall Street with the S&P 500 declining 0.1% and the Nasdaq index rising by the same margin on Friday.
Treasuries were mostly steady following a rally on Friday that wiped seven basis points from the 10-year yield. Australian and New Zealand bond yields ticked lower Monday.
The offshore yuan strengthened on signs of official support after China’s central bank set a stronger-than-expected daily reference rate. The gap between the yuan’s daily fixing versus estimates was the widest since November, while Bloomberg calculations indicated the People’s Bank of China injected a net 40 billion yuan ($5.56 billion) in open market operations.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang had downplayed investor concerns of challenges facing the economy, saying Beijing was stepping up policy support to spur growth and systemic risks are being addressed.
US yields dip as traders renew bets on Fed rate cuts
“Just saying the risks are not as much as people think is not going to draw investors back,” says Vey-Sern Ling, managing director at Union Bancaire Privee. “China is not just a ‘show me’ story for
