Shares in Asia traded within narrow ranges Thursday after US stocks ticked higher and Treasuries fell on data showing US consumers expect inflation to persist.
Equities in Australia edged lower while those in South Korea were mostly unchanged. Stock futures for Hong Kong slipped, even as an index of US-listed China shares gained ground. Japanese markets are closed for a holiday.
The S&P 500 rose 0.4% Wednesday, ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, resuming a November rally that has lifted the index around 8%, on track for its best month since July last year. US futures were little changed in early Asian trading.
Treasuries fell Wednesday, weighing on Australian and New Zealand government bond yields in Asian trading. The market for cash Treasuries in Asia will be closed given Japan’s holiday.
The selling in Treasuries pushed the two-year and five-year yields three basis points higher. The increase in yields reflected fresh data showing Americans expect inflation to climb at an annual rate of 4.5% over the next year, up from the 4.4% expected earlier in the month, according the University of Michigan.
Stocks
S&P 500 futures were little changed as of 9:59 a.m. Tokyo time. The S&P 500 rose 0.4%.
Nasdaq 100 futures were little changed. The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.4%.
Hang Seng futures fell 0.3%.
Nikkei 225 futures (OSE) rose 0.7%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.5%.
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed.
The euro was little changed at $1.0892.
The Japanese yen rose 0.2% to 149.26 per dollar.
The offshore yuan was little changed at 7.1584 per dollar.
The Australian dollar was little changed at $0.6548.
Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin fell 0.8% to $37,320.08
Ether fell 1.3% to $2,054.15
Bonds
Australia’s 10-year yield advanced four basis points to 4.48%
Source: Bloomberg
