(Bloomberg) — Asian stocks declined following losses in the US, with investors focused on the reopening of Chinese markets following a week-long holiday.
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Shares dropped in Tokyo, while Wall Street was dragged down by a tech selloff, geopolitical angst and bets on a smaller Federal Reserve rate cut. A gauge of US-listed Chinese equities was flat overnight. Stocks in Australia edged higher.
All attention is on China, with a briefing by the nation’s top economic planner set for 10 a.m. local time being closely watched for more policy measures. The government unleashed a slew of stimulus measures before the holiday break, and Chinese shares have soared as the support reinvigorated investor confidence, with an index of Chinese shares traded in Hong Kong jumping 11% since the Golden Week holiday kicked off.
“There is definitely a lot of support for the market coming through,” Kerry Craig, JPMorgan Asset Management global market strategist, said on Bloomberg TV. “There is just a case of whether the market may be a little bit disappointed if they don’t get what they expect on that fiscal package.”
An overheating of the A-share market and the Chinese government’s delivery on its recently announced policy stimulus are among the risks investors should watch amid the Chinese stock market rally, according to Morgan Stanley.
Several other investors are also not convinced about how long the rally will sustain. Invesco Ltd., JPMorgan Asset Management, HSBC Global Private Banking and Wealth, and Nomura Holdings Inc. are among those viewing the recent rebound with skepticism and waiting for Beijing to back up its stimulus pledges with real money.
The S&P 500 fell 1% on Monday after notching a four-week winning run. Alphabet Inc. sank 2.4% as a judge ruled it must lift restrictions that prevent developers from setting up rival marketplaces that compete with its Google Play Store. Brent crude jumped above $80 a barrel amid mounting tensions in the Middle East. In the wake of Friday’s solid jobs data, Treasuries continued to drop — with the 10-year yield topping 4%.
“Friday’s strong jobs report not only appeared to kill any chance of a 50-basis-point rate cut in November, it kickstarted chatter about the Fed leaving rates unchanged if economic data continues to come in hotter than expected,” said Chris Larkin at E*Trade from Morgan Stanley. “But as last week showed, geopolitics can’t be ignored.”
The crisis in the Middle East continues to unnerve investors, with fighting escalating Monday on multiple fronts after a year of war. The Israel Defense Forces said it intercepted most of a barrage of rockets fired toward Tel Aviv by Hamas and other Iran-backed groups. Brent crude soared to its highest price since August as speculation increased that Israel may attack Iran’s oil infrastructure. West Texas Intermediate crude rose early Tuesday.
To Dave Sekera at Morningstar, if there is any further geopolitical escalation, that would potentially spur the risk-off trade — with growth shares underperforming value ones.
“Typically, in a risk-off trade, you’re going to see rotation into defense stocks, but I’d be careful if you’re an investor today,” he said. “Some of the defensive sectors today are already overvalued. Unlike a typical risk-off trade, I think oil stocks would go up.”
With the exception of energy shares, every major sector in the S&P 500 dropped Monday. A gauge of the “Magnificent Seven” megacaps slipped 1.9%. Amazon.com Inc. sank 3.1% after Wells Fargo Securities downgraded the shares. Apple Inc. slid 2.3% as a Jefferies analyst said investors have overly optimistic expectations for the latest iPhones. Nvidia Corp. gained.
The VIX volatility gauge jumped to a two-month high. Treasury 10-year yields rose six basis points to 4.03%.
Despite the drop in stocks, two of Wall Street’s top strategists have turned more optimistic on signs of a robust labor market, economic resilience and easing interest rates.
Morgan Stanley’s Michael Wilson raised his view on so-called cyclical stocks relative to safer defensive peers, noting Friday’s blowout payrolls data and expectations of more cuts from the Fed. His peer at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., David Kostin, upgraded his 12-month target for the benchmark to 6,300 points from 6,000. The gauge closed at 5,695.94 Monday.
Key events this week:
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Fed’s Raphael Bostic, Susan Collins, Philip Jefferson and Adriana Kugler speak, Tuesday
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Fed minutes, Wednesday
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Fed’s Lorie Logan, Raphael Bostic, Austan Goolsbee and Mary Daly speak, Wednesday
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US initial jobless claims, CPI, Thursday
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Fed’s John Williams and Thomas Barkin speak, Thursday
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JPMorgan, Wells Fargo kick off earnings season for the big Wall Street banks, Friday
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US PPI, University of Michigan consumer sentiment, Friday
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Fed’s Lorie Logan, Austan Goolsbee and Michelle Bowman speak, Friday
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
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S&P 500 futures were little changed as of 9:05 a.m. Tokyo time
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Japan’s Topix fell 1%
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Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.2%
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Euro Stoxx 50 futures rose 0.2%
Currencies
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The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
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The euro was unchanged at $1.0976
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The Japanese yen was little changed at 148.07 per dollar
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The offshore yuan was little changed at 7.0660 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
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Bitcoin fell 1.1% to $62,290.76
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Ether fell 0.5% to $2,428.02
Bonds
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The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.02%
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Japan’s 10-year yield advanced four basis points to 0.920%
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Australia’s 10-year yield advanced 14 basis points to 4.21%
Commodities
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
—With assistance from Shery Ahn.
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