(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock futures dipped and Asian stocks opened with modest gains as investors weighed further signs of positive developments in the global fight against the coronavirus. The yen was steady as traders awaited a key Bank of Japan policy meeting.Equity benchmarks in Japan and South Korea ticked higher after U.S. stocks ended firmer on Friday. Australia was little changed. The Australian dollar outperformed, while moves were muted elsewhere across foreign-exchange markets. Coronavirus deaths slowed the most in more than a month in Spain, Italy and France while fatalities reported in the U.K. and New York were the lowest since the end of March. Oil dipped.The Federal Reserve joins the BOJ and the European Central Bank announcing policy decisions this week as the battle against the pandemic continues with some countries proceeding on steps to relax lockdown measures. Several major economies will release GDP numbers, while corporate earnings will keep flooding in, including from Amazon.com Inc., Barclays Plc and Samsung Electronics Co.“This coming week will be huge from a macro data perspective and the extent to which the global economy has been floored by Covid-19,” said Simon Ballard, chief economist at First Abu Dhabi Bank. “Until we are clearly past the peak of the outbreak, on a global scale, and can feasibly deem the pathogen to be contained and there to be no meaningful risk of a second wave of infection, we believe a defensive investment strategy will remain the most appropriate.”Meantime, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo sketched out a phased-in reopening that begins with construction and manufacturing. That could start as soon as May 15, he said, probably upstate before the New York City area. Italy and Spain, Europe’s two hardest-hit countries, along with neighboring France, all signaled tentative moves to open up their economies.These are the main moves in markets:StocksFutures on the S&P 500 fell 0.4% as of 9:05 a.m. in Tokyo. The gauge added 1.4% on Friday.Topix index advanced 0.5%.Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 0.1%.South Korea’s Kospi index rose 0.4%.Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index futures added 0.6%on Friday, when futures onCurrenciesThe yen was little changed at 107.51 per dollar.The offshore yuan traded at 7.0885 per dollar.The euro bought $1.0816, little changed.The Aussie gained 0.4% to 63.96 U.S. cents.BondsThe yield on 10-year Treasuries held at 0.60%.CommoditiesWest Texas Intermediate crude slipped 2.6% $16.50 a barrel.Gold was at $1,725.43 an ounce, down 0.2%.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/2zpwrmP
0 comments:
Post a Comment