(Bloomberg) — U.S. equity futures fell Friday after Wall Street dipped from a record high in thin year-end trading. Asian shares may get a boost from a surge in U.S.-listed Chinese equities.
Australian stocks slipped but contracts for Hong Kong pointed higher earlier. Both markets will shut early, while Japan is among a number closed all day ahead of the New Year.
The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index jumped 9.4% on Thursday, the most since 2008. The gauge is still down more than 40% for 2021.
Treasury futures edged up after yields fell in U.S. hours. There is no cash Treasuries trading in Asia due to the Japan holiday. The dollar was steady and crude oil declined. Bitcoin held its December losses.
Global equities are closing out a strong year, driven by a U.S. surge while Asia lagged partly because of weakness in China on regulatory curbs and a slowing economy. Bond investors are nursing losses as many central banks move toward tighter monetary settings to fight inflation. How the coronavirus and those policy shifts shape economic reopening are key for the outlook.
“As we look forward to 2022 the gains are probably going to be more modest than they’ve been in the past year or so” partly given where valuations are now, Jason Pride, chief investment officer for private wealth at Glenmede, said on Bloomberg Television. But there’s reason for optimism too since “we’re still in the recovery from the pandemic,” he added.
U.S. data showed jobless claims unexpectedly fell last week while continuing claims dropped to the lowest level since March last year. A measure of Chicago business activity rose in December more than economists predicted.
Traders are continuing to monitor China’s struggling property developers, including some initial coupon payment deadlines for Kaisa Group Holdings Ltd. dollar bonds.
The spotlight was also on talks by telephone between U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin said Putin was satisfied with the outcome of the discussions. The U.S. and its allies have raised alarm over a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine.
For more market analysis, read our MLIV blog.
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
- S&P 500 futures fell 0.4% as of 9:34 a.m. in Tokyo. The S&P 500 fell 0.3%
- Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.4%. The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.4%
- Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.5%
- Hang Seng futures rose 1.7% earlier
Currencies
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
- The euro was at $1.1325
- The Japanese yen was at 115.07 per dollar
- The offshore yuan was at 6.3773 per dollar
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined four basis points to 1.51% Thursday
- Australia’s 10-year bond yield was at 1.63%
Commodities
- West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.1% to $76.16 a barrel
- Gold was at $1,815.79 an ounce, up 0.1%
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
