Stocks Climb as Yuan Losses Ease; Dollar Declines: Markets Wrap

FILE PHOTO: A man's legs are pictured as he looks at an electronic board showing stock information is pictured at a brokerage house in Beijing, China, January 5, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo

Stocks in Asia reversed losses and the yuan recovered its drop amid signs of intervention from Chinese authorities looking to stem the currency’s weakness.

Shares in China and Hong Kong climbed and the offshore yuan pared the slide that pushed it to its weakest in more than a year against the greenback, as traders said a major Chinese bank was seen making large offers to sell dollars. Equities also climbed in India and Australia, while Japan shares slipped. U.S. and U.K. stock-index futures pointed to a muted start to trading in London and New York. The dollar slipped and Treasury yields ticked higher.

Chinese assets are in focus after the central bank Friday weakened its daily reference rate for the currency by the most in two years. The yuan initially fell beyond 6.8 per dollar, then rallied amid speculation of intervention. The suggestion that China’s policy makers are comfortable with depreciation has stoked a debate about the implications for global markets, with the example of the turmoil of 2015 looming in investor memories.

Earlier, the dollar fell, triggered by President Donald Trump saying he wasn’t thrilled at the Federal Reserve increasing interest rates, raising the specter of political interference with the U.S. central bank. Meantime, earnings season is in full swing, with a mixed picture so far doing enough to propel U.S. equities back toward the all-time high reached in January.

Elsewhere, copper gained after Thursday’s slide. West Texas Intermediate crude rose above $69 a barrel.

These are the main moves in markets:

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Stocks

Japan’s Topix index was down 0.3 percent as of 3:15 p.m. in Tokyo. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.4 percent. South Korea’s Kospi index gained 0.4 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was up 0.8 percent. The Shanghai Composite climbed 2.1 percent, reversing a drop of as much as 0.7 percent. Futures on the S&P 500 Index were flat. The underlying gauge fell 0.4 percent Thursday.

Currencies

The yen advanced 0.1 percent to 112.37 per dollar. The offshore yuan was little changed at 6.7902 after sliding as much as 0.7 percent earlier. The euro rose 0.2 percent to $1.1665.

Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose one basis point to 2.85 percent. Australian 10-year government bond yields slid about four basis points to 2.62 percent.