European Stocks Set to Rise; Dollar Weighs on Asia: Markets Wrap

This content was published on November 14, 2024 - 08:24

5 minutes

(Bloomberg) — European equities were poised for gains ahead of the region’s third-quarter GDP data, while Asian equities slumped on weakness in China and the dollar’s strength.

The Euro Stoxx 50 futures climbed 0.2%, defying the fall in Asian equities and US stock futures. An index of dollar rose nearly 0.2% to its two-year high, while the 10-year US Treasury yield gained for a third day in Asian trading.

In Asia, stocks extended losses with a regional benchmark falling as much as 0.8%. Shares fell in China, Taiwan and Japan, while they rose in Australia. Hong Kong-listed stocks dropped amid thin volumes as the market stayed open despite signs of severe weather.

Assets in Asia have slumped since the US election as investors assess the impact of President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed tariff policies on the region’s growth. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index is on pace for its worst week since April, while the surging dollar has pushed a Bloomberg gauge of Asian currencies to decline over 1% so far this week.

“The strength in the US dollar will likely be a key overhang” for Asia’s stocks, said Jun Rong Yeap, a strategist at IG Asia Pte.

The yen fell further against the dollar to the weakest level since July. The drop has taken the yen near levels when Japanese authorities last intervened to prop up its currency, with the nation’s top foreign exchange official warning about the one-sided, sudden moves.

Elsewhere in Asia, technology stocks listed in Hong Kong fell, taking its loss from a high in October to 20%. Alibaba Group Holding and Meituan were among the big losers.

Chinese equities may remain range-bound given signs from policymakers at last week’s legislative meeting that stimulus measures are probably not going to target a major reacceleration of growth, Kaanhari Singh, head of Asia cross asset strategy for Barclays, said on Bloomberg Television.

“That matters because it looks like China’s fiscal stimulus could be reactive rather than proactive,” Singh said. “The broad dollar higher theme is what has been driving risk in the region across FX and equities.”

The yields on China’s new dual-part dollar bonds declined and were at a discount to comparable Treasuries on their secondary market debut Thursday, according to credit traders. China got more than $40 billion of bids for its first dollar bond issuance since 2021, or 20-times the bonds on offer.

Australia’s unemployment rate held at 4.1% as expected, but the amount of jobs added in October was lower than expected.

In Europe, ASML Holding NV, the Dutch maker of advanced chip-making machines, reaffirmed its bullish long-term revenue outlook as it bets on an artificial intelligence-driven boom in semiconductor demand. Siemens AG forecast solid revenue growth next year, boosted by demand for its electrification infrastructure products.

US inflation

US consumer price data was in line with expectations on a headline basis, although the annualized three-month core rate picked up. Overall, the numbers were supportive of a potential Fed cut in mid-December, with swaps traders increasing the likelihood to around 80% from about 56% earlier Wednesday.

The nuanced data led short-end bond yields to fall, with the two-year yield dropping five basis points to 4.29%. Treasury yields were slightly higher across the curve in Asian trading.

Traders will now shift their focus to US PPI data due later Thursday, which is expected to show headline and core producer prices for October rose year-over-year.

Bitcoin notched another record high, climbing above $93,000 for the first time, with traders exuberant over Trump’s rhetorical support for crypto. The cryptocurrency was trading below $90,000 in Asian trading.

In other commodities, oil retreated after a Wednesday gain. Gold edged lower for a fifth session.

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