Asian Stocks Set to Drop as Tariff Man Returns: Markets Wrap

Bloomberg

Published Dec 02, 2019 23:24

Updated Dec 03, 2019 02:43

Asian Stocks Set to Drop as Tariff Man Returns: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) -- Asian stock futures slumped Tuesday after a sell-off on Wall Street triggered by fresh tariffs announced by President Donald Trump, renewing concerns about global trade tensions.

Japan’s currency held gains after its biggest jump since October on Monday in wake of Trump slapping steel tariffs on Brazil and Argentina. Australian shares opened with a thud, and Japanese and Hong Kong futures were down. U.S. stock futures were little changed after the S&P 500 Index slumped 0.9% Monday, when disappointing U.S. manufacturing data added to the risk-off tone. Treasuries were the odd asset out, falling on Monday amid a global retreat from bonds.

A U.S. proposal for tariffs on $2.4 billion of French goods, announced after the Wall Street close, may add to concerns about the looming Dec. 15 deadline on the next round of levies on China. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross warned that those will go ahead if there’s no U.S.-China trade deal.

Meantime, an unexpected decline in U.S. manufacturing contrasted with signs of recovery in China and Europe. Two-year Treasury yields dipped on Monday.

Elsewhere, oil rose the most in more than a week as traders sifted for fresh signals of whether OPEC and allied crude producers will tighten supplies when they meet later this week.

Here are some key events coming up this week:

  • The Reserve Bank of Australia’s monetary policy decision is due Tuesday.
  • Saudi Aramco’s initial public offering is scheduled to be priced on Thursday.
  • Friday brings the U.S. jobs report, where estimates are for non-farm payrolls to rise by 190,000 in November.
These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

  • Futures on the S&P 500 Index were little changed as of 8:15 a.m. in Tokyo.
  • Nikkei 225 futures dropped 1.6% earlier.
  • Australia S&P/ASX 200 Index lost 1.5%.
  • Hang Seng Index futures fell 0.6%.
Currencies

  • The yen was at 109.03 per dollar.
  • The offshore yuan was at 7.0434 per dollar.
  • The euro was at $1.1076.
Bonds

  • The yield on 10-year Treasuries climbed four basis points Monday, to 1.82%.
  • Australian 10-year yields rose to 1.12%.
Commodities