Gold bars to be exempt from tariffs, White House clarifies
By Chibuike Oguh
April 7 (Reuters) - Asia equities are set for a sluggish
open on Wednesday after Wall Street pulled back from record
highs reached in previous sessions, as investors eye the
upcoming earnings season for more signs of a recovery following
a series of strong U.S. economic data.
The three major Wall Street indexes closed lower on Tuesday,
a day after the S&P 500 and the Dow rose to record levels driven
by optimism from a greater-than-expected jobs report last Friday
and data showing a dramatic rebound in the U.S. services
industry on Monday. Investors also weighed the latest U.S. job openings report,
which showed on Tuesday that vacancies rose to a two-year high
in February while hiring had its biggest gain in nine months
amid increased COVID-19 vaccinations and additional government
stimulus. "We've had a few big up days in a row and I think markets
are looking to a take a little bit of a pause here," said
Charlie Ripley, vice president of portfolio management at
Allianz Investment Management in Minnesota. "From an economic
data perspective, we didn't get too much information except for
the jobs opening report and market pricing is reflecting that."
Japan's Nikkei 225 futures NKc1 fell 0.1%, while
Australian S&P/ASX 200 futures YAPcm1 rose 0.04%.
The International Monetary Fund raised its global growth
forecast to 6% this year from 5.5%, reflecting a rapidly
brightening outlook for the U.S. economy. With upcoming earnings season expected to show S&P profit
growth of 24.2% from a year earlier, according to Refinitiv
data, investors will be watching to see whether corporate
results further confirm recent positive economic data.
"We're heading into earnings season and we'll get a better
look of how companies performed in the first quarter even as we
exit the pandemic," Ripley said.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell
0.29% to 33,430.24, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 0.10% to 4,073.94
and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 0.05% to 13,698.38.
U.S. Treasury yields dipped, with 5-year notes leading the
decline, on investor views that market pricing based on an
earlier-than-expected tightening by the Fed was too aggressive.
Benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR last rose 18/32 in price
to yield 1.6578%, from 1.72% late on Monday.
The dollar slipped to a two-week low against a basket of
world currencies, with traders taking advantage of its strong
March performance as dropping Treasury yields pressured the
greenback. The dollar index =USD fell 0.259%, with the euro EUR=
down 0.05% to $1.1869. The Korean won strengthened 0.08% versus
the greenback at 1,118.21 per dollar.
Crude oil prices partially rebounded from the previous
session's losses, lifted by strong data from the United States
and China. U.S. crude CLc1 gained 1.16% to settle at $59.33 per
barrel, and Brent LCOcv1 settled at $62.74 per barrel, up
0.95% on the day.
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Global assets http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl
Global currencies vs. dollar http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
Emerging markets http://tmsnrt.rs/2ihRugV
MSCI All Country World Index Market Cap http://tmsnrt.rs/2EmTD6j
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