U.S. equity-index futures erased gains and Asian stocks were mixed as a heated first American presidential debate concluded and traders recalibrated positions on the final day of this quarter. The dollar edged lower.
S&P 500 futures were flat after the end of the debate between President Donald Trump and Democratic hopeful Joe Biden, in which they sparred over topics including health care and the economy.
Futures rose as much as 0.7% earlier during the debate, well within the range of swings that have prevailed during one of the U.S. stock market’s more volatile stretches. S&P 500 contracts have gained or lost an average of 1% a day since the start of June, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
U.S. shares on Tuesday declined as talks on expanding fiscal stimulus ended for the day with plans to resume discussions Wednesday.
Equities in Hong Kong and China advanced as data showed Asia’s largest economy continued to recover from its slowdown. China Evergrande Group’s bonds and stocks climbed after the developer took a major step toward avoiding a cash crunch. China markets are shut from Thursday for a week of holidays. South Korea is closed Wednesday. Shares in Japan and Australia dipped. Treasuries were little changed. Oil fell to US$39($53.38) a barrel in New York.
The China figures show the rebound indicated in August’s activity data continued and extended after a pause in July, said Patrick Bennett, head of macro strategy for Asia at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.
The outperformance of the yuan against the U.S. dollar and other major currencies year-to-date “has been underpinned by the rebound in the domestic economy, and an acceleration of foreign portfolio inflows,” he said. “We expect those influences to remain.”
The negotiations between the Trump administration and congressional Democrats on stimulus are reaching a critical juncture this week. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke Tuesday morning for 50 minutes and are set to speak again Wednesday.
Here are some key events coming up:
- The EIA crude oil inventory report comes out Wednesday.
- The September U.S. employment report on Friday will be the last before the November election.
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
- S&P 500 futures were little changed as of 11:51 a.m. in Tokyo. The gauge fell 0.5% on Tuesday.
- Japan’s Topix index slid 0.4%.
- Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.8%.
- Shanghai Composite gained 0.5%.
- Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index slipped 1%.
- Euro Stoxx 50 futures advanced 0.1%.
Currencies
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1%.
- The yen was at 105.61 per US Dollar.
- The offshore yuan was at 6.8132 per US Dollar.
- The euro was at US$1.1748.
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries was at 0.65%.
- Australia’s 10-year yield rose to 0.80%.
- Commodities
- West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.8% to US$38.99 a barrel.
- Gold was at US$1,894.69 an ounce, down 0.1%.
