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(Bloomberg) — Asian stocks are set to remain under pressure Monday as investors fretted over President Donald Trump’s escalation of the trade war with China.
Futures pointed lower in Japan and Hong Kong, which will in focus as protesters looked to shut down the city with a general strike on Monday. China’s yuan will also be closely watched after it tumbled to the weakest since November. The yen was little changed in early trading.
The S&P 500 Index closed lower Friday, in its worst week since the sell-off in December, while Treasuries rose with yields plumbing the lowest since 2016. The July U.S. jobs report did little to alter views on the economy and path for future rate policy. The dollar weakened against most major currencies. Trump ratcheted up his rhetoric late Friday, saying he could boost levies on China to a “much higher number,” before tweeting Saturday that things are going “very well”. China vowed to counter the tariff threat.
Aside from trade, investors will keep an eye on a number of speeches from Federal Reserve policy makers this week. Second quarter earnings season continues. In the U.K., speculation has risen Prime Minister Boris Johnson is preparing not only for Brexit by Oct. 31, but a general election as well.
These are some key events to watch out for this week:
Earnings from financial giants include: SoftBank, HSBC, UniCredit, AIG, ABN Amro Bank, Standard Bank, Japan Post Bank.Five Asian central banks have rate decisions including India, Australia and New Zealand.A string of Fed policy makers speak this week. Governor Lael Brainard is up first on Monday, followed by St. Louis chief James Bullard on Tuesday and Chicago’s Charles Evans a day later. All are Federal Open Market Committee voters.
Here are the main moves in markets (all sizes and scopes are on a closing basis):
Stocks
Futures on the Nikkei 225 fell 0.6% earlier.Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index futures lost 0.8%.Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index was flat.The S&P 500 Index dipped 0.7% Friday.
Currencies
The yen was at 106.62 per dollar after gaining 0.7% Friday.The yuan fell 0.1% to 6.9816 per dollar.Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1% Friday.The euro was steady at $1.1112.The pound was at $1.2153, down 0.1%.
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell four basis points to 1.85%. The yield on two-year Treasuries decreased two basis points to 1.71%.
Commodities
Gold dropped 0.3% at $1,440.83 an ounce FridayWest Texas Intermediate crude gained 3.2% to $55.66 a barrel.
To contact the reporter on this story: Andreea Papuc in Sydney at apapuc1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Christopher Anstey at canstey@bloomberg.net, Cormac Mullen
For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com
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