ASIAN STOCKS CAUTIOUS OVER INFLATION

Asian stocks are poised for a cautious start to the week with investors fretting over rising bond yields and inflation as economic activity picks up. Turkey’s lira tumbled after the central bank head was replaced, Andreea Papuc reported for Bloomberg News.

US equity futures fluctuated, while contracts fell in Japan. Australian shares edged higher at the open. The Turkish lira slumped as much as 15% in early Asian trading after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan removed the central-bank governor following a bigger-than-expected increase in interest rates. The dollar advanced against most Group-of-10 currencies.

The S&P 500 Index weakened slightly on Friday. The financial sector underperformed after the Federal Reserve let a capital break for big banks expire. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 recovered from Thursday’s slump.

Oil slipped after its worst week since October. A heavy slate of Treasury auctions in maturities that have taken a beating recently will keep the bond market on edge this week. Ten-year yields ended last week above 1.7%, at the highest levels in about 14 months.

S&P 500 futures fell 0.1% as of 8:35 a.m. in Tokyo. Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.1%. Nikkei 225 futures in Singapore fell 0.8%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 0.2%. Hang Seng Index futures rose 0.4% earlier. The yen was little changed at 108.91 per dollar. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index advanced 0.2%.

The euro fell 0.1% to $1.1887. The Australian dollar dropped 0.2% to 77.27 US cents. The yield on 10-year Treasuries climbed one basis point to 1.72%, the highest in about 14 months. Australia’s 10-year bond yield fell about one basis point to 1.79%. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.5% to $61.11 a barrel. Gold slid 0.3% to $1,739.37 an ounce.

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