April 20, 2022

Stocks Rise as Treasuries Steady; Yen Snaps Drop: Markets Wrap

  • Most Asia shares climb following rally in Wall Street equities
  • Chinese banks hold lending rates; BOJ resumes bond buying

Most Asian stocks rose Wednesday and a selloff in Treasuries paused as investors evaluated the economic outlook amid high inflation, a hawkish Federal Reserve and China’s Covid challenges.

Japan helped an Asia-Pacific equity gauge climb for the first session in four. China wavered after its banks held lending rates, disappointing investors looking for a cut to support an economy sagging under Covid lockdowns.

U.S. equity futures retreated amid an after-hours slump in Netflix Inc. on poor subscriber numbers. That tempered some of the optimism from a rally in the S&P 500 index ahead of the streaming giant’s results.

Most Asian stocks rose Wednesday and a selloff in Treasuries paused as investors evaluated the economic outlook amid high inflation, a hawkish Federal Reserve and China’s Covid challenges.

Japan helped an Asia-Pacific equity gauge climb for the first session in four. China wavered after its banks held lending rates, disappointing investors looking for a cut to support an economy sagging under Covid lockdowns.

U.S. equity futures retreated amid an after-hours slump in Netflix Inc. on poor subscriber numbers. That tempered some of the optimism from a rally in the S&P 500 index ahead of the streaming giant’s results.

The fallout from price pressures, Russia’s war in Ukraine and China’s parlous economic outlook continue to shape sentiment. U.S. 10-year real yields briefly turned positive for the first time since 2020, reflecting tighter financial conditions that may sap riskier investments such as equities.

“It takes time for the market to recognize and then respond to higher inflation,” Belita Ong, chairman at Dalton Investments LLC, said on Bloomberg Radio. “My concern is that we benefited from low interest rates during an era of peace, no wars, and during an era of very significant globalization. Both of those trends are now reversing.”

Elsewhere, oil rebounded after posting the biggest slump in almost two weeks, with an industry report pointing to a drop in U.S. stockpiles.

Will value stocks finally outperform growth peers? What will be the best-performing EM stock market for the rest of 2022? “Rotations” is the theme of this week’s MLIV Pulse survey. Participation takes one minute and is anonymous, so please click here to get involved.

What to watch this week:

  • Earnings include American Express, China Telecom, Tesla
  • EIA crude oil inventory report, Wednesday
  • Federal Reserve Beige Book, Wednesday
  • French presidential election debate, Wednesday
  • San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans, due to speak, Wednesday
  • Euro zone CPI, U.S. initial jobless claims, Thursday
  • Fed Chair Jerome Powell, ECB President Christine Lagarde discuss global economy at IMF event, Thursday
  • Manufacturing PMIs: Euro zone, France, Germany, U.K, Friday
  • Bank of England’s Andrew Bailey to speak, Friday