ASIA STOCKS MIXED AS U.S. FUTURES DIP: BLOOMBERG

Asian stocks opened steady Monday and US equity futures dipped as traders digested a record close on Wall Street as well as a $20 billion wave of block trades that rattled investors, Andreea Papuc reported for Bloomberg News.

Japanese shares climbed, while Australia and South Korea were little changed. US contracts fell after the S&P 500 notched a record Friday.

The US open later is now much anticipated, after revelations that Archegos Capital Management LLC -- the family office of Bill Hwang -- was behind the block trades, dumping shares of Chinese tech giants and US media conglomerates amid margin calls.

Nomura Holdings Inc. shares slumped more than 11% after the company warned of a possible “significant” loss arising from US client. Traders will also be monitoring China’s daily yuan fixing, after a bout of sudden weakness in the currency. A dollar gauge ticked higher. Ten-year US Treasury yields climbed at the end of last week.

S&P 500 futures slipped 0.4% as of 9:08 a.m. in Tokyo. The S&P 500 Index climbed 1.7% Friday. Topix Index rose 0.6%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index added 0.2%. Kospi Index fell 0.1%. In currencies, the yen was at 109.70 per dollar, down 0.1%. The offshore yuan was at 6.5432 per dollar.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index edged up 0.1%. The euro traded at $1.1787. The yield on 10-year Treasuries dipped to 1.67%. Australia’s 10-year bond yield climbed about four basis points to 1.70%. West Texas Intermediate crude was little changed at $60.99 a barrel. Gold was at $1,731.21 an ounce.

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