Stella Qiu
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Asian shares fell on Tuesday while the battered yen fell to a record low against the euro, although the risk of intervention stopped further weakness in the U.S. dollar.
Treasuries were little changed as caution was exercised Friday ahead of key U.S. price data. With the first US presidential debate on Thursday and the first round of voting in France over the weekend, investors remain cautious about how political shifts in major economies could impact their positions.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.3% after falling 1.4% over the past three sessions. increased by 0.5%.
The MSCI Asia-Pacific ex-Japan Information Technology Index fell 0.5%. Taiwan shares () fell 0.4%.
The Nasdaq fell more than 1% overnight on Wall Street, led by AI market leader Nvidia (NASDAQ:) a 7% drop as investors fled tech stocks. However, the Dow Jones index rose 0.7% to a one-month high.
and Nasdaq futures remained unchanged.
“It’s difficult to extrapolate what can be attributed to technical factors and what to fundamental factors in the markets because price action is obviously driven by end-of-month and end-of-quarter positioning,” said Kyle Rodda, senior analyst at Capital.com. .
“The sell-off in tech stocks, despite little change in rate expectations and earnings outlooks, could signal investors are moving away from the quarter’s big winners.”
Chinese shares were up slightly, with blue chips () up slightly at 0.1% and Hong Kong shares up 0.9%.
In a worrying sign of the health of Chinese consumers, reports said e-commerce sales fell for the first time during the so-called 618 shopping festival, which ended last week.
The Royal Dollar fell slightly overnight after recent overall gains. The price was last unchanged at 105.46, falling 0.3% overnight against a basket of major currencies.
The yen rose 0.1% to 159.45 per dollar, although it still held near levels not seen since late April, when Japanese authorities intervened in the market to stop the currency’s rapid decline.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said on Tuesday that authorities were closely monitoring currency movements and would respond accordingly to excessive volatility.
The currency, however, continued to weaken against other major currencies, with the euro clearing major resistance to hit a record high of 171.49 yen overnight. The price was last down 0.1% at 171.08 yen.
The Australian dollar also rose for a sixth straight session to 106.38 yen, a 17-year high, supported by continued demand for the carry trade.
Looking ahead, the popular US Personal Consumer Expenditures (PCE) price index will be released on Friday. Annual growth in the Federal Reserve’s favorite core inflation index is expected to slow to 2.6% in May, the lowest level in more than three years.
The weak result will likely bolster market bets on a Fed rate cut as soon as September, for which futures are currently priced at 65% prospect. Two rate cuts are planned this year.
Treasuries are mostly stable this week amid a lack of catalysts. The two-year yield held steady at 4.7255%, little changed for the week, while the 10-year yield was down 1 basis point at 4.2341% and down 2 bps. during the week.
Oil prices remained unchanged throughout the day. Futures were steady at $85.95 a barrel, while prices were little changed at $81.60 a barrel. [O/R]
Gold prices fell 0.3% to $2,325.52 an ounce.