(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks wavered at the open Friday after a Wall Street rally on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s assurance that the central bank can reinvigorate the economy without stoking painful inflation.
Shares gained in Japan and fluctuated in South Korea, while Australia’s index slipped. U.S. contracts climbed after the S&P 500 notched another record, though volumes on U.S. exchanges set new lows for the year. The Nasdaq 100 outperformed, aided by Apple Inc. and Tesla Inc. Powell’s assurance boosted Treasuries, with the benchmark yield trading around a two-week low.
Oil edged up toward $60 a barrel as Saudi Arabia defended the OPEC+ plan to increase output, and said the alliance was nimble enough to change course if necessary. The dollar held losses.
Treasury 20-year bonds outperformed after comments from New York Fed Executive Vice President Lorie Logan sparked talk of increased central-bank purchases in this maturity.
The Fed commentary is reassuring investors that officials are committed to dovish policy that fosters a sustainable recovery from the health crisis. Powell said the central bank would react if inflation expectations started “moving persistently and materially” above tolerable levels. Despite the strength of some indicators, the recovery remains incomplete, as reflected in the latest unexpectedly high U.S. jobless claims.
“A lot of investors are worried about the stock market highs, but that doesn’t mean it can’t get higher, and the economic conditions are certainly set up for a positive equity environment,” said Xi Qiao, managing director at UBS Global Wealth Management on Bloomberg TV.
The U.S. outlook is greatly improved, but remains at risk from potential setbacks in the global economy as the vaccine rollout “hasn’t been nearly as robust in many countries,” San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly told Bloomberg TV.
More than 704 million shots have been administered worldwide, but China is among those facing fresh hurdles as its effort to vaccinate 560 million people by the end of June is running into a supply shortage. The nation’s consumer and producer prices data are due later in the session.
These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
- S&P 500 futures were up 0.3% as of 9:20 a.m. Tokyo time. The S&P 500 closed 0.4% higher.
- Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.4% after the index gained 1%.
- Japan's Topix Index was up about 1%.
- South Korea's Kospi Index fluctuated.
- Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index was 0.3% lower.
- Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index futures fell 0.2%.
Currencies
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed after a 0.4% drop.
- The euro was steady at $1.1915.
- The Japanese yen traded at 109.35 per dollar.
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 1.64%.
- Australia's 10-year bond yield dipped two basis points to 1.72%.
Commodities
- West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 0.4% to $59.84.
- Gold was slightlly lower at $1,753.46 an ounce.
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