GLOBAL MARKETS DJIA 34583.57 87.06 0.25% Nasdaq 13897.30 8.48 0.06% S&P 500 4500.21 19.06 0.43% FTSE 100 7551.81 -35.89 -0.47% Nikkei Stock 26808.32 -80.25 -0.30% Hang Seng 21609.86 -199.12 -0.91% Kospi 2689.22 -6.64 -0.25% SGX Nifty* 17748.50 10.0 0.06% *April contract USD/JPY 123.88-89 -0.07% Range 124.22 123.68 EUR/USD 1.0861-64 -0.16% Range 1.0885 1.0858 CBOT Wheat May $10.200 per bushel Spot Gold $1,933.95/oz 0.2% Nymex Crude (NY) $97.01 $0.78 US STOCKS
U.S. stocks rose as investors digested the possibility of more aggressive monetary tightening by the Fed and monitored the war in Ukraine.
Stocks moved into the green in the afternoon, but were down for much of the day. The S&P 500 gained 0.4%.
The technology-focused Nasdaq Composite Index ticked about 0.1% higher, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%. Eight of the S&P 500's sectors were positive, with consumer staples leading the advancers.
ASIAN STOCKS
Japanese stocks were lower, giving up earlier gains that were led by chemical and electronics stocks as the yen weakened and the recent momentum in crude-oil prices eased. USD/JPY was at 124.04, up from 123.65 as of Thursday's Tokyo stock-market close. Investors remain focused on the war in Ukraine and its impact on commodity prices. The Nikkei Stock Average was down 0.4% at 26773.18.
South Korea's benchmark Kospi rose 0.4% to 2707.31 in early trade, led by electronics and energy stocks. Bargain-hunting was kicking in after recent losses as investors digest the likelihood of the Fed's more aggressive monetary-policy tightening while monitoring the Russia-Ukraine war.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.4% to 21727.18. Stocks in Asia were poised for a muted start as investors digested the Fed's plan for aggressive policy tightening and monitored the economic fallout of China's Covid-19 lockdowns, Phillip Securities Research said. The Hang Seng TECH Index was down 0.8% at 4437.81.
Chinese stocks were mixed in morning trade, alongside mixed movements in other Asian equities. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.2% to 3243.51, the Shenzhen Composite Index was flat at 2086.90 and the ChiNext Price Index fell 0.3% to 2574.88. Auto stocks were slightly higher, despite data showing that China passenger car sales fell 15% on year in March due to Covid-19 lockdowns. Commerzbank analysts reckon that China's overall domestic consumption will be pressured in the near term as Covid-19 cases continue to rise. "It would still take some time before the situation stabilizes and come under control," they said in a note.
FOREX
Most Asian currencies weakened against the U.S. dollar in the Asian morning session amid continuing prospects of faster Fed tightening, which were reinforced by comments overnight from St. Louis Fed President James Bullard. With expectations of Fed rate increases high, potential U.S. dollar gains against G-10 and Asian currencies are likely forthcoming, MUFG Bank senior currency analyst Jeff Ng said in a research note. USD/SGD edged 0.1% higher to 1.3627 and USD/TWD gained 0.1% to 28.88, while AUD/USD was little changed at 0.7479.
METALS
Gold rose, buoyed by increasing flows into safe-haven assets as investors sell equities over fears the U.S. Federal Reserve will be aggressive with tightening monetary policy, Oanda senior market analyst Ed Moya said in a note. "Geopolitical risks have provided some underlying support for gold and if the next round of sanctions from the EU against Russia are hard-hitting, gold could have a meaningful rally out of its trading range," Moya added. Spot gold was 0.2% higher at $1,933.95 a troy ounce.
OIL SUMMARY
Oil fell in Asian trading after early gains amid declining Russian crude output, with Russia pumping an average of 1.44 million tons of oil a day in the first six days of April, ANZ Research analysts said in a note. This is 5% lower compared with the March daily average, ANZ said. While the release of emergency oil inventories from the U.S. and others should boost short-term supply, this "will fail to ultimately change the fundamentals in the oil market" because the likely drop in prices will cause producers to delay increasing their production levels, the analysts said. Front-month Brent fell 0.3% to $100.25/bbl; WTI declined 0.1% to $95.92/bbl .
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
04-07-22 2315ET
