U.S. Equity Futures Decline, Asian Stocks Mixed: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. equity futures dipped and Asian stocks were mixed Monday amid investor caution at the start of the week even as data indicated China’s economic recovery remains on track. The dollar edged up.

South Korean and Taiwan shares retreated as sentiment toward chip component makers took a hit on news the Trump administration will restrict licenses to several Huawei Technologies Co. suppliers. Hong Kong and Chinese stocks saw modest gains after growth and industrial output data beat expectations. S&P 500 futures pointed lower with European equity contracts. Crude oil retreated.

There is no trading of cash Treasuries due to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, though U.S. bond futures advanced. The S&P 500 closed lower Friday and support for Treasuries pushed the yield on 10-year notes down to around 1.08%.

Global shares slipped last week after optimism about the $1.9 trillion U.S. aid package, and the so-called reflation trade, faltered into a holiday weekend. Investors are waiting for the inauguration of Joe Biden, who ascends to the U.S. presidency on Wednesday with a speech outlining how he’ll tackle the health and economic crises he inherits.

“Markets needed a breather or even a pull back to justify reflationary expectations,” said Ben Emons, managing director of global macro strategy at Medley Global Advisors.

Meanwhile, Janet Yellen is expected to affirm the U.S.’s commitment to market-determined exchange rates and provide assurances that the U.S. will not seek a weaker currency for competitive trade advantages, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing Biden transition officials familiar with preparation for her confirmation hearing as Treasury Secretary.

U.S.-China tension continues to bubble in the last days of Donald Trump’s presidency. The U.S. government notified several Huawei suppliers that it’s revoking their licenses to work with the Chinese firm and rejecting other applications, Reuters reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter.

On the coronavirus front, cases approached the 95 million mark, while the U.S. death toll from Covid-19 neared 400,000. Norway expressed increasing concern about the safety of the Pfizer Inc. vaccine on elderly people with serious underlying health conditions after deaths in 29 people who received inoculations.

These are some key events coming up in the week ahead:

• U.S. equity and bond markets are shut Monday for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
• Earnings come from companies including Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Procter & Gamble, Intel, and Netflix.
• Joe Biden takes office as U.S. president on Wednesday.
• Policy decisions are due Wednesday from central banks in Brazil, Malaysia and Canada. The Bank of Japan and the ECB deliver decisions Thursday.

Here are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• S&P 500 futures slid 0.3% as of 12:21 p.m. in Tokyo. The index fell 0.7% on Friday.
• Japan’s Topix index declined 0.5%.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.5%.
• South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.9%.
• Shanghai Composite rose 0.5%.
• Euro Stoxx 50 futures lost 0.3%.

Currencies

• The yen was at 103.75 per dollar, up 0.1%.
• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index climbed 0.1%.
• The euro bought $1.2075.
• The offshore yuan traded flat at 6.4825 per dollar.

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries ended last week at 1.08%.

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude slid 0.8% to $51.93 a barrel.
• Gold was steady at $1,828.17 an ounce.