Asian Stocks Increase as Japan Auction Receives Strong Demand – Asia Market Wrap
Asian stocks recovered from Monday’s selloff, which saw cryptocurrencies lead drops in global risk assets. Japanese government bonds advanced after a closely anticipated auction of 10-year notes received strong demand.
MSCI’s regional equities index rose as much as 0.5% before trimming its gains. South Korea and Taiwan, both tech-heavy markets, performed well. US stock futures remained unchanged after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 dipped 0.5% and 0.4%, respectively, on Monday. Bitcoin advanced after fluctuating early in the session. It fell more than 5% on Monday.
At this year’s final auction of 10-year Japanese notes, demand exceeded the 12-month average. The selling took on extra relevance for speculators as rising anticipation about an interest rate hike triggered a yield jump. The Yen fell marginally versus the Dollar after surging the most in a week on Monday, when BoJ’s Ueda gave the clearest indication yet that his board may hike interest rates soon.
On Monday, global markets got off to a rocky start in December, as cryptocurrencies sold off again and BoJ Governor Ueda’s hawkish comments fuelled risk aversion. The focus in the coming days will be on central bank activities, as Federal Reserve policymakers meet on December 9-10 and the BoJ decides on rates on December 19th.
Silver fell from a record high, with a key technical indicator indicating that a six-day gain through Monday had pushed the white metal into overbought territory. Gold also fell, as oil edged up.
