GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian markets set for mixed trade amid U.S. stimulus wrangling

By Lawrence Delevingne
BOSTON, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Asian stocks were set for choppy
trade on Wednesday after Wall Street dipped amid growing
uncertainty about an additional round of U.S. fiscal stimulus.
New Zealand opened the region on a grim note after the
Pacific nation reported its first coronavirus infections in more
than 100 days, and sent its largest city back into lockdown.
Despite the mixed sentiment, safe-haven gold remained under
pressure having posted its worst one-day rout in seven years on
a broader lift in risk appetite earlier in the session. GOL/
Elsewhere in Asia, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 .AXJO rose 0.2%
and Japan's Nikkei 225 .N225 was up 0.3%. Hong Kong's Hang
Seng index futures .HSI HSIc1 lost 0.21%.
U.S. stocks closed lower on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 and
Dow snapping a seven-day winning streak and falling late in the
session on growing uncertainty about a stalemate in Washington
over a fiscal stimulus deal. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 0.38%, the S&P
500 .SPX lost 0.80%, and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped
1.69%.
The day's declines came as political gridlock between the
Republican White House and congressional Democrats over
coronavirus relief continued for a fourth day, with each party
blaming the other for intransigence. The other major political news out of the U.S. was
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden selecting Senator
Kamala Harris as his choice for vice president, making her the
first Black woman on a major party presidential ticket in U.S.
history. E-mini futures for the S&P 500 EScv1 rose 0.16% in Asia on
Wednesday.
The dollar edged higher while the euro gave up earlier gains
on Tuesday in choppy trading, as risk appetite soured after the
impasse in stimulus negotiations. In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 fell
nearly 2% and the currency dipped against the dollar NZD= as
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced she was re-locking down
Auckland after four new cases of COVID-19 were discovered in the
city. "If the lockdowns are removed after three days, the damage
to New Zealand's economy should be small," Joseph Capurso of
Commonwealth Bank of Australia wrote in a note Wednesday.
Despite the new cases, New Zealand's central bank is
expected to hold rates steady at its policy meeting later on
Wednesday amid signs of improvement in the economy. The Japanese yen was little changed versus the greenback at
106.48 per dollar, while Sterling GBP= was last trading flat
at $1.3050.
The Australian dollar hardly budged at $0.715.
The stronger dollar was no help for already battered
precious metals. Spot gold prices fell near 6%, the largest
one-day drop in over seven years and silver XAG= plunged over
15%, its largest daily drop in over a decade.
U.S. Treasury yields jumped to one-month highs on Tuesday, a
day before the government sells its largest-ever amount of
10-year notes. Benchmark 10-year note yields US10YT=RR jumped
six basis points to 0.635%, after earlier reaching 0.661%, the
highest since July 13. They are up from a low of 0.504% on
Thursday. Oil prices fell about 1% on Tuesday after rising earlier in
the session as hopes dimmed for a swift stimulus resolution.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 fell 49 cents, or 1.1%, to settle at
$44.50 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude
futures CLc1 fell 33 cents, or 0.8%, to finish at $41.61 a
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