Stocks Gain, Bonds Calm as Fed Outlook Trumps Moody’s Downgrade
10:22 JST, November 13, 2023
TOKYO, Nov 13 (Reuters) – Stocks in Asia rose on Monday while Treasuries and the dollar kept their composure, as investors took their lead from Wall Street’s Friday rally, shrugging off a Moody’s downgrade to the U.S. credit outlook.
Tech stocks stood out, as they had in the U.S. at the end of last week, after the calming of long-term Treasury yields since the start of this month boosted the outlook for borrowing-dependent growth shares.
U.S. 10-year Treasury yields US10YT=RR were stable at around 4.646%, consolidating around the top of their range since Nov. 3, when softer labor market data spurred bets for a less hawkish Federal Reserve. The yield had been as high as 4.935% on Nov. 1.
The U.S. dollar index =USD hovered below its post-payrolls-report high of 106.01, reached on Friday, last trading little changed around 105.80.
Japan’s Nikkei .N225 rose 0.46%, with chip-related shares providing the biggest boost. Taiwan’s tech-heavy equity benchmark .TWII rallied 1.17%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng .HSI gained 0.49% amid an outperformance in tech shares .HSTECH.
However, mainland Chinese blue chips .CSI300 were slightly lower, and Australia’s resource-heavy benchmark .AXJO slipped 0.13%.
Nomura Securities strategist Naka Matsuzawa said equities are likely close to a peak.
“Up until now the market has been taking bad economic news as good news, because that would mean a pause in Fed rate hikes,” he said.
“But now, the Treasury market has already priced in a pause, so there’s not much room for Treasury yields to fall further,” removing a support for the stock market, he added. “In short, I don’t think the stock market rally is going to continue.”
The market paid little attention to a Moody’s announcement late on Friday that it had lowered its outlook on the U.S. credit rating to “negative” from “stable.”
The focus instead remains on upcoming economic data, with readings of U.S. consumer prices and retail sales due Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
Meanwhile, crude oil prices eased on Monday as demand worries trumped supply concerns, amid slowing growth in the United States and China. O/R
Brent crude futures LCOc1 for January were down 35 cents, or 0.4%, at $81.08 a barrel, while the U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 for December were at $76.82, down 35 cents, or 0.5%.
Both benchmarks gained nearly 2% on Friday as Iraq voiced support for oil cuts by OPEC+.
"News Services" POPULAR ARTICLE
-
FBI Identifies Thomas Matthew Crooks as ‘Subject Involved’ in Trump Rally Shooting
-
Donald Trump Whisked off Stage in Pennsylvania after Apparent Gunshots Rang Through the Crowd
-
Japanese Executive among 11 Arrested in Myanmar for Inflating Rice Prices
-
Japan’s Nikkei Reclaims 40,000 Level on Weak Yen, Foreign Buying (UPDATE 1)
-
U.S. President Joe Biden Drops Out of the 2024 Race after Disastrous Debate Inflamed Age Concerns
JN ACCESS RANKING
- Aviation Fuel Shortage Causes Problems at Regional Airports; Growing Demand, Lack of Workers to Transport
- Prices of over 10,000 Food and Beverage Items to Rise This Year; Figure is down from over 30,000 Last Year
- Sony Group to End Production of Blu-ray Discs; Market Has Shrunk Due To Growth Of Hard Disk Drives, Streaming
- Japan Ministry Concerned Over Same-Sex Couple Receiving City-Issued Resident Certificates Referring to ‘Common-Law Husband’
- Japan Court OKs Sex Change without Surgery