Asia Stocks Open Mixed; Bitcoin Swings On X Posts: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) -- Stocks in Asia opened mixed after US benchmarks struggled, while Bitcoin whipsawed on confusion sparked by posts on social media platform X. (Bloomberg) -- Stocks in Asia opened mixed after US benchmarks struggled, while Bitcoin whipsawed on confusion sparked by posts on social media platform X. Benchmark indexes rose in Japan, with the Nikkei 225 Stock Average extending gains after hitting its highest in more than three decades. Investor optimism is returning to the country after its long battle with deflation. Stocks in Australia and South Korea edged lower while futures in Hong Kong pointed to declines. “With the market’s expectation of an early Fed rate cut receding after the start of the new year, Japanese stocks remained firm on the back of expectations that the yen’s depreciation against the dollar will support corporate earnings,” JPMorgan chief Japan equity strategist Rie Nishihara wrote in a note. Contracts of US stocks were little changed after commodity and financial shares drove S&P 500 down on Tuesday. Treasury 10-year yields and the dollar were steady in Asia trading. The yen, which has started the year on a weak note, was little changed. Bitcoin rebounded after a plunge triggered by the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s statement that it hadn’t yet granted approval of spot-Bitcoin exchange traded funds. The SEC said that a conflicting post minutes earlier on the regulator’s official X account was untrue. Investor focus will be on a key inflation report from the US later this week for cues on the timing of the Federal Reserve’s rate cut. A growing mismatch between aggressive pricing for US interest rate cuts and resilient economic fundamentals reducing the need for such easing risks creating a “reverse Goldilocks” scenario for global markets, according to Max Kettner at HSBC Holdings Plc. He sees the Fed starting its easing cycle in June, later than market pricing indicating May or even March. Back in Asia, Data Wednesday showed wage growth for Japanese workers slowed sharply in November. That’s an unwelcome development for the Bank of Japan as it seeks evidence of a virtuous cycle linking pay hikes to price increases as a prerequisite for normalizing monetary policy. China’s inflation, trade and credit data are also among data awaited in the following days for a health check on the world’s no. 2 economy. Elsewhere, oil steadied after rising more than 2% on Tuesday on signs US stockpiles continued to contract, and as an official forecast pointed to a narrow global deficit this year. Comprehensive cross-platform coverage of the U.S. market close on Bloomberg Television, Bloomberg Radio, and YouTube with Romaine Bostick, Scarlet Fu, Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec.Source: Bloomberg Key events this week: US wholesale inventories, Wednesday The World Economic Forum’s global risks report is released, Wednesday New York Fed President John Williams speaks, Wednesday US CPI, initial jobless claims, Thursday China CPI, PPI, trade, Friday UK industrial production, Friday US PPI, Friday Some of the biggest US banks report fourth-quarter results, Friday Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari speaks, Friday ECB chief economist Philip Lane speaks, Friday Some of the main moves in markets: Stocks S&P 500 futures were little changed as of 9:04 a.m. Tokyo time. The S&P 500 fell 0.1% Nasdaq 100 futures were little changed. The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.2% Hang Seng futures fell 0.4% Japan’s Topix rose 0.2% Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.4% Euro Stoxx 50 futures fell 0.3% Currencies The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro was little changed at $1.0934 The Japanese yen was little changed at 144.47 per dollar The offshore yuan was little changed at 7.1833 per dollar The Australian dollar was little changed at $0.6685 Cryptocurrencies Bitcoin rose 1.5% to $46,113.01 Ether rose 1.3% to $2,348.58 Bonds The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 4.00% Japan’s 10-year yield declined 1.5 basis points to 0.585% Australia’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to 4.07% Commodities West Texas Intermediate crude was little changed Spot gold was little changed This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation. --With assistance from Rita Nazareth and Matthew Burgess. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.