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Stocks Mixed in Holiday Hit Trading; Dollar Steady: Markets Wrap

Asian Stocks Set for Gains in Holiday Hit Trading: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) -- Stocks in Asia traded mixed Friday after modest gains in their U.S. counterparts, ahead of a holiday weekend in many countries. The dollar was little changed.

Shares edged higher in Japan and Korea, and fluctuated in China, with trading volumes lighter than usual. The yen steadied and Japanese 10-year bond yields rose after the Bank of Japan cut purchases of some longer-dated bonds in a regular operation. Earlier, the S&P 500 Index closed up after data showed retail sales jumped by the most since September 2017 and unemployment claims fell. The euro pared losses following disappointing German and euro-area factory numbers.

Stocks Mixed in Holiday Hit Trading; Dollar Steady: Markets Wrap

Investors remained cautious ahead of the three-day weekend for many markets, with traders assessing the long-awaited findings of the Special Counsel’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 election. Exchanges across Europe will also be shuttered on Monday. So far this week solid economic data out of China optimistic signals from the trade talks had not been enough to spur much risk appetite amid a mixed start to the earnings season.

Elsewhere, oil prices rose Thursday after a report showed a drop in U.S. drilling activity.

Here are some notable events coming up:

  • A swathe of financial markets will close across the Western world for the Good Friday holiday, including in the U.S., U.K. and Germany.

These are the main market moves:

Stocks

  • Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.6 percent as of 4:10 p.m. Tokyo time.
  • Japan’s Topix Index rose 0.1 percent.
  • Korea’s Kospi Index gained 0.1 percent.
  • The S&P 500 rose 0.2 percent Thursday. The Nasdaq 100 added 0.1 percent.

Currencies

  • The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed after gaining 0.3 percent.
  • The yen rose 0.1 percent to 111.91 per dollar.
  • The euro rose 0.1 percent to $1.1244 after a 0.6 percent decline Thursday.
  • The offshore yuan rose 0.1 percent to 6.7017 per dollar.
  • The British pound was steady at $1.3000.

Bonds

  • The yield on 10-year Treasuries dipped three basis points Thursday to 2.56 percent.
  • The 10-year JGB yield rose less than one basis point to minus 0.03 percent.

Commodities

  • West Texas crude gained 0.4 percent Thursday to $64 a barrel.

To contact the reporters on this story: Cormac Mullen in Tokyo at cmullen9@bloomberg.net;Todd White in Madrid at twhite2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Christopher Anstey at canstey@bloomberg.net, Naoto Hosoda

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