ASIA STOCKS TRADING MUTED AS INVESTORS FOCUS ON FEDS

Asian stocks were mixed Monday, June 14, 2021, in holiday-thinned trading as investors prepared for a key Federal Reserve meeting later in the week, Joanna Ossinger and Cormac Mullen reported for Bloomberg News.

Shares saw modest gains in Japan and slipped in South Korea. Trading volumes are expected to be light with a number of holidays in the region including in Australia, China, and Hong Kong. U.S. futures were little changed after stocks staged a late rally Friday, closing at another record after a choppy day of trading.

Ten-year Treasury yields inched up to around 1.46% after hitting three-month lows on Thursday and notching their biggest weekly slide since December last week.

The dollar was steady against Group-of-10 peers during early Asia trading in the wake of a Group-of-Seven leadership meeting that emphasized unity. Hedge funds boost net-long positions in US crude to highest in almost three years.

With Treasury yields trending downward, investors are anticipating the Fed will reaffirm that its ultra-loose policy remains appropriate and that it’s too soon to start even contemplating tapering bond purchases.

Still, officials could project interest-rate liftoff in 2023 amid faster economic growth and inflation, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

S&P 500 futures rose 0.1% as of 10:50 a.m. in Tokyo. The benchmark climbed 0.2% to a record high Friday. Japan’s Topix Index gained 0.1%. South Korea’s Kospi Index fell 0.2%. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index advanced 0.1%.

The euro slid 0.1% to $1.2102. The British pound was steady at $1.4112. The Japanese yen gained 0.1% to 109.77 per dollar. The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced about one basis point to 1.47%. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.3% to $71.12 per barrel. Gold fell 0.6% to $1,866.07 an ounce.

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