ASIA STOCKS TREAD GENTLY BUT U.S. TECH ISSUES SLIP

Asian stocks are set for a muted open Wednesday as investors consider a raft of earnings from US technology heavyweights, a renewed rise in Treasury yields and jump in commodity prices, Andreea Papuc and Emily Barrett reported for Bloomberg News on April 28, 2021.

Futures were flat in Japan and rose in Australia and Hong Kong. U.S. contracts edged up after the Nasdaq 100 Index dropped for the first time in three sessions amid declines in heavyweights such as Tesla Inc.

Alphabet Inc. shares rallied in post-market trade on stronger-than-expected quarterly sales. The S&P 500 Index closed little changed after swinging between gains and losses.

Bond yields are rising again as markets await updates on government and central bank stimulus, with US President Joe Biden set to address a joint session of Congress and the Fed delivering its policy statement Wednesday.

The equity market reaction to a generally strong earnings season so far has been subdued, with investors setting a high bar for incentives to push up stock prices.

Four out of five S&P 500 companies that have released results have either met or beaten expectations.

S&P 500 futures were up less than 0.1% at 7:40 a.m. in Tokyo. The S&P 500 was little changed. Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.1%, after the index fell 0.5%.

Nikkei 225 futures fell 0.1%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index futures rose 0.2%. Hang Seng Index futures climbed 0.3% earlier.

The yen was steady at 108.74 per dollar. The offshore yuan was at 6.4817 per dollar. The euro was little changed at $1.2090.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was steady. The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced five basis points to 1.62%. West Texas Intermediate crude extended a rally to $63.03 a barrel. Gold was at $1,775.97 an ounce, Vildana Hajric and Kamaron Leach reported for Bloomberg News.

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