Asian Stocks Mixed on Trade Volleys; Kiwi Slumps: Markets Wrap

Asian stocks were mixed Thursday with Chinese equities again outperforming despite the ongoing tariff to-and-fro between China and the Trump administration. The dollar ticked higher, while oil held on to Wednesday’s losses.

A firmer yen weighed on Japanese shares before the currency gave up its gains, while Chinese and Hong Kong stocks pushed higher as earnings reports offered a respite from the recent sell-off. Stocks also rose in Australia and dipped in South Korea. Treasuries maintained gains made as investors scooped up a record $26 billion 10-year auction. The kiwi tumbled to a two-year low after the New Zealand central bank pushed out its forecast for a rate increase by a year as the outlook for economic growth weakens.

China said it will impose 25 percent tariffs on an additional $16 billion worth of imports from the U.S. from Aug. 23, matching Washington’s latest move in the trade war. Separately, the U.S. announced new sanctions on Russia, saying it’s made a final determination that Moscow was responsible for the March 4 nerve-agent attack on former double agent Sergei Skripal in the U.K. The ruble tumbled.

Elsewhere, crude pared a drop to around a seven-week low after the escalating trade dispute between the world’s biggest economies overshadowed a decline in U.S. crude stockpiles. Bitcoin was steady after dropping for four days, leading a sell-off in digital coins of all sizes.

Here are some key events coming up this week:

Samsung Electronics is set to unveil its next Galaxy Note smartphone on Thursday. U.S. consumer prices probably rose in July from June, consistent with a pickup in inflation that’s projected to keep the Federal Reserve on a path of gradual interest-rate increases, economists forecast before Friday’s release.These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

Japan’s Topix index fell 0.3 percent as of 1:57 p.m. in Tokyo. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.6 percent. South Korea’s Kospi index fell 0.2 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.9 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index advanced 1.8 percent. S&P 500 Index futures nudged higher. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.2 percent.

Currencies

The yen rose 0.1 percent to 110.82 per dollar. The offshore yuan traded at 6.8230 per dollar. The euro bought $1.1607. The kiwi plunged 1.1 percent to 66.75 U.S. cents. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was flat.