Stocks Drop, Yen Holds Gain as Tariff Man Returns: Markets Wrap

Bloomberg

Published Dec 02, 2019 07:07PM ET

Updated Dec 02, 2019 09:26PM ET

(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks slumped Tuesday after a sell-off on Wall Street triggered by fresh tariffs announced by President Donald Trump, renewing concerns about global trade tensions.

Japan’s currency held gains after its biggest jump since October on Monday in the wake of Trump slapping steel tariffs on Brazil and Argentina. Shares in Japan, Australia and South Korea opened with a thud. Hong Kong futures were down. U.S. stock futures were little changed after the S&P 500 Index slumped 0.9% Monday, when disappointing U.S. manufacturing data added to the risk-off tone. Treasuries were the odd asset out, falling on Monday amid a global retreat from bonds.

A U.S. proposal for tariffs on $2.4 billion of French goods, announced after the Wall Street close, may add to concerns about the looming Dec. 15 deadline on the next round of levies on China. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross warned that those will go ahead if there’s no U.S.-China trade deal.

Meantime, an unexpected decline in U.S. manufacturing contrasted with signs of recovery in China and Europe. Two-year Treasury yields dipped on Monday.

Elsewhere, oil rose the most in more than a week as traders sifted for fresh signals of whether OPEC and allied crude producers will tighten supplies when they meet later this week.

Here are some key events coming up this week:

  • The Reserve Bank of Australia’s monetary policy decision is due Tuesday.
  • Saudi Aramco’s initial public offering is scheduled to be priced on Thursday.
  • Friday brings the U.S. jobs report, where estimates are for non-farm payrolls to rise by 190,000 in November.
These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

  • Topix index declined 1.1% as of 9:01 a.m. in Tokyo.
  • Australia S&P/ASX 200 Index lost 1.8%.
  • South Korea’s Kospi index fell 0.9%.
  • Hang Seng Index futures fell 0.6%.
  • Futures on the S&P 500 Index were little changed.
Currencies

  • The yen was at 109 per dollar.
  • The offshore yuan was at 7.0427 per dollar.
  • The euro was at $1.1075.
  • The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index inched up 0.1%.
Bonds

  • The yield on 10-year Treasuries dipped to 1.81% after climbing four basis points.
  • Australian 10-year yields rose three basis points to 1.13%.
Commodities