Asian equities opened flat Wednesday after stocks were little changed on Wall Street as investors weighed earnings and comments from Federal Reserve officials who favor continued rate hikes.
(Bloomberg) — Asian equities opened flat Wednesday after stocks were little changed on Wall Street as investors weighed earnings and comments from Federal Reserve officials who favor continued rate hikes.
Major indexes from Japan to South Korea Australia were little changed while futures for Hong Kong’s key share gauge fell 0.3%. US equity contracts dipped slightly at the start of Asian trading.
The S&P 500 fluctuated before ending just 0.1% higher Tuesday, while the Cboe Volatility Index hit its lowest since January 2022, remaining below 17. Bank of America’s GFSI Market Risk Index — a gauge of global volatility across assets — also remained near the lowest level since February 2022.
“There’s not a lot of volatility because I think there’s not enough evidence of a full-blown recession, nor is there evidence of a full-blown growth track out there,” Michael Cuggino, president and portfolio manager of San Francisco-based Permanent Portfolio Family of Funds, said on Bloomberg Radio.
Two-year US yields, which are more sensitive to imminent policy moves, were little changed, hovering at 4.21%, while the rate on ten-year bonds was at 3.59%. Government bond yields in Australia and New Zealand showed small gains early.
Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic told CNBC that he favors raising rates one more time and then holding them above 5% for some time to curb inflation. His St. Louis counterpart James Bullard separately told Reuters that he favors getting rates into a 5.5% to 5.75% range. The benchmark currently sits between 4.75% and 5%.
On the earnings front, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. fell as its results showed traders failed to capitalize on Wall Street’s fixed-income boom, contributing to firmwide revenue that trailed estimates. Bank of America Corp. rose after profit beat expectations.
In late trading, Western Alliance Bancorp shares surged as much as 20% after it beat earnings estimates and said deposits recovered after the collapse of three regional banks. Also after the bell, Netflix Inc. retreated as its subscriber growth and revenue outlook missed projections.
Elsewhere in markets, Bitcoin held slightly above the closely watched $30,000 level. Oil remained little changed early Wednesday as the bullish impetus from OPEC+ production cuts faded against a backdrop of weaker-than-expected demand. Gold was flat after halting a two-day losing streak Tuesday.
Key events this week:
- Eurozone CPI, Wednesday
- Fed releases Beige Book, Wednesday
- Fed’s John Williams gives a speech, Wednesday
- Fed’s Austan Goolsbee is interviewed on NPR, Wednesday
- China loan prime rates, Thursday
- Eurozone consumer confidence, Thursday
- US initial jobless claims, existing home sales, index of leading economic indicators, Thursday
- ECB issues report on March policy meeting, Thursday
- Fed’s Christopher Waller speaks at cryptocurrency-focused event, Thursday
- Fed’s Patrick Harker speaks on “monetary policy and housing”, Thursday
- Fed’s Loretta Mester discusses the economic and policy outlook, Thursday
- Fed’s Raphael Bostic discusses regional and national economic conditions, Thursday
- Fed’s Michelle Bowman and Lorie Logan speak at event, Thursday
- PMIs for Eurozone, Friday
- Japan CPI, Friday
- Fed’s Lisa Cook discusses economic research at an event, Friday
Some of the main moves in the market:
Stocks
- S&P 500 futures fell 0.1% as of 9:07 a.m. Tokyo time. The S&P 500 rose 0.1%
- Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.1%. The Nasdaq 100 was little changed
- Japan’s Topix index was little changed
- Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index was little changed
- Hong Kong’s Hang Seng futures fell 0.3%
Currencies
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
- The euro was little changed at $1.0976
- The Japanese yen was little changed at 134.07 per dollar
- The offshore yuan was little changed at 6.8793 per dollar
- The Australian dollar rose 0.2% to $0.6736
Cryptocurrencies
- Bitcoin fell 0.1% to $30,380.4
- Ether rose 0.5% to $2,103.35
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced one basis point to 3.59%
- Australia’s 10-year yield advanced four basis points to 3.52%
Commodities
- West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.1% to $80.95 a barrel
- Spot gold was little changed
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Sujata Rao.
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