Stocks Slip On Trade Tensions; Dollar Steady: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks slipped Wednesday as investors mulled the latest developments in the U.S.-China trade war. Treasuries steadied with the dollar ahead of minutes from the latest Federal Reserve policy meeting.Early gains in Japanese shares fizzled, South Korean equities fell, and Australian stocks retreated from an 11-year high as the New York Times reported the Trump administration is considering placing limits on China video surveillance company Hikvision. Earlier, U.S. stocks closed higher after the U.S. decided to grant limited relief for consumers and carriers that do business with Huawei Technologies Co. -- a day after the White House’s moves against the Chinese telecom giant battered stocks. The yuan was little changed.Risk assets have been whipsawed in May as the world’s largest economies ratchet up both rhetoric and action on trade, with the latest phase focused on Huawei and its suppliers and customers. U.S. President Donald Trump held off on blacklisting Huawei on concerns it could disrupt China trade talks and only took action after discussions stalled, people familiar with the talks said. Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren said the U.S.-China trade dispute adds a downside risk to his economic outlook, bolstering the case to stay patient and keep interest rates steady.Next up are the minutes from the most recent Federal Reserve policy meeting. The central bank may have “slightly overdone it” by raising interest rates in December, though it’s premature to talk about a rate cut, said Fed Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard.“There is a broad expectation for a growth slowdown and the trade tensions are really adding to these kinds of worries,” Jingyi Pan, Singapore-based market strategist at IG Ltd., told Bloomberg TV. “A lot of this may not have followed through to the economic data.”Elsewhere, the pound remained volatile after U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May said she’s prepared to offer parliament a vote on holding a second Brexit referendum. The British currency spiked higher on her remarks before giving up those gains as some key lawmakers responded with skepticism. Crude oil retreated.Here are some notable events coming up:The Fed minutes of its FOMC April 30-May 1 policy meeting will be released Wednesday.Counting of votes from the Indian general elections takes place Thursday as Prime Minister Narendra Modi attempts to secure a second term.European Central Bank President Mario Draghi speaks in Frankfurt on Wednesday.The European Parliament holds continent-wide elections May 23-26.On Thursday, the ECB publishes its account of the April monetary policy decision.And these are the main moves in markets:StocksJapan’s Topix index rose less than 0.1% as of 9:47 a.m. in Tokyo.Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index slid 0.2%.South Korea’s Kospi index dropped 0.3%.Hang Seng Index futures earlier added 0.1%.Futures on the S&P 500 Index lost 0.1%. The underlying gauge gained 0.9% Tuesday.CurrenciesThe yen was flat at 110.50 per dollar.The offshore yuan traded steady at 6.9335 per dollar.The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index increased 0.1%.The euro bought $1.1166, little changed.The British pound was at $1.2710.BondsThe yield on 10-year Treasuries held at 2.42%.Australia’s 10-year bond yield added three basis points to 1.66%.CommoditiesWest Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.8% to $62.61 a barrel.Gold held at $1,274.85 an ounce.— With assistance by Vildana Hajric, and Sarah Ponczek©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

Stocks Slip On Trade Tensions; Dollar Steady: Markets Wrap

Asian stocks slipped Wednesday as investors mulled the latest developments in the U.S.-China trade war.

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Stocks Slip On Trade Tensions; Dollar Steady: Markets Wrap

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