Asian markets fell in morning trade on Wednesday amid trade worries as White House trade advisor Peter Navarro said a potential trade deal between the U.S. and China is still a ways off.
Bonds extended gains globally ahead of the U.S. holiday and as investors weighed a run of poor economic data and the prospect of more dovish appointees to two of the world’s largest central banks. Stocks in Europe rose with U.S. equity futures, while those in Asia were mostly lower after four weeks of gains.
Asian Markets Stocks
- Futures on the S&P 500 Index gained 0.2% to 2,984.00 as of 9:13 a.m. London time.
- The Stoxx Europe 600 Index jumped 0.6% to 391.59, reaching the highest in 11 months on its fifth consecutive advance.
- The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index increased 0.5% to 7,600.41 to the highest in about 10 months.
- The MSCI Asia Pacific Index decreased 0.4% to 161.65, the biggest dip in more than a week.
- The MSCI Emerging Market Index declined 0.5% to 1,058.13, the largest drop in more than a week.
Currencies
- The euro fell 0.1% to $1.1278, the weakest in two weeks.
- The British pound dipped 0.2% to $1.2568, the weakest in more than two weeks.
- The Japanese yen climbed 0.1% to 107.75 per dollar, the strongest in more than a week.
- The Australian dollar gained less than 0.05% to 0.7 per dollar.
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell two basis points to 1.95%, the lowest in more than two years.
- Germany’s 10-year yield fell three basis points to -0.40%, hitting the lowest on record with its fifth straight decline.
- Britain’s 10-year yield decreased three basis points to 0.692%, the lowest in almost three years.
Commodities
- Gold rose 0.4% to $1,423.71 an ounce, the highest in more than six years.
- West Texas Intermediate crude gained 0.1% to $56.29 a barrel.
- Iron ore climbed 0.4% to $117.44 per metric ton, the sixth consecutive advance.
Here are some key events coming up:
- U.S. markets will close early on Wednesday and remain shut Thursday for the Independence Day holiday
- The U.S. jobs report is due Friday and is projected to show non-farm payrolls rose by 164,000 in June, rebounding from 75,000 the month prior.
