Asian Shares Gain With Focus on Iran War, Payrolls: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — Asian stocks rose at the end of another volatile week with a report leading to some optimism that more traffic may be allowed through the Strait of Hormuz. Attention is also turning to the release of key US payroll data on Friday.
Regional shares followed a recovery in US equities Thursday on news that Iran is drafting a protocol with Oman to monitor traffic through the key waterway, having effectively shut it down since the start of the war. Trading was light in Asia with many key markets shut for holidays. Major European markets are also closed.
“The improvement in US risk appetite has spilled over” into Asian equities, said Hitoshi Asaoka, chief strategist at Asset Management One Co. in Tokyo. “While oil prices may not fully return to previous levels, if they do partially normalize, there is considerable room for a rebound from a liquidity perspective.”
MSCI’s benchmark Asia Pacific Index gained 0.7%, with South Korea’s Kospi rising 2.7%, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbing 1.3%. China’s CSI 300 Index reversed an earlier advance to drop 0.9%.
Treasury futures were little changed in Asia with the cash market shut until US hours, when it will be open for a half day. The dollar was mixed against its Group-of-10 peers. US stock-index futures, also open for an abbreviated session, declined, with contracts on the S&P 500 down by 0.3%.
Asian markets shut Friday included Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, the Philippines and Indonesia. US stock markets will also be closed for Good Friday, though the government is still scheduled to publish economic data including March nonfarm payrolls.
Oil rallied above $110 a barrel Thursday after President Donald Trump issued fresh threats against Iranian infrastructure in an effort to pressure Tehran in negotiations. West Texas Intermediate surged 11%, while the global Brent benchmark settled near $109.
“With US payrolls coming up and a holiday ahead, markets are wary of what could happen over the weekend — especially the first weekend after” Trump’s prime time speech on Wednesday, said Rina Oshimo, a senior strategist at Okasan Securities Co. in Tokyo. “If attacks escalate or retaliations occur, oil prices could remain elevated for longer.”
US stocks started off Thursday deep in the red after Trump’s speech late Wednesday did little to reassure investors that the war was nearing a swift resolution, though he had previously set a two-to-three-week timeline for ending the conflict.
War Pattern
The higher close for the S&P 500 on Thursday ran counter to a pattern of late-week selloffs that have hit the market ever since the war began, as nervous investors unwind positions that could be upended if weekend developments threaten to worsen the hit to the global economy.
“While assets gyrate on every new headline, until a clear agreement is achieved with a palatable plan for reopening the Strait, there’ll be downward pressure on economic growth and upward pressure on headline inflation,” said Max Gokhman, deputy CIO, Franklin Templeton Investment Solutions. “That spells indigestion for both equity and bond investors.”
Iran targeted more sites in Arab Gulf states overnight and into Friday. A container ship signaling French ownership exited the Strait of Hormuz, in what appeared to be the first known transit by a vessel linked to Western Europe since the Iran war all but shuttered the vital waterway.
Economists estimate US nonfarm payrolls increased 65,000 last month after falling 92,000 in February, according to a Bloomberg survey.
Corporate News:
Microsoft Corp. announced a four-year, $10 billion investment package in Japan, part of the US company’s Asia-wide push to expand in a region hungry for artificial intelligence services. A group of private credit firms led by Blackstone Inc. has refused to extend another lifeline to software company Medallia, amping up pressure on owner Thoma Bravo to inject more equity into the troubled business or hand over the keys via a debt restructuring. Stellantis NV is discussing options for building electric vehicles in Canada with its Chinese partner, Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology Co., according to people familiar with the matter. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. has released its third proprietary AI model in as many days, reinforcing the company’s intent to focus on profiting off its flagship artificial intelligence services. Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
S&P 500 futures fell 0.3% as of 6:26 a.m. New York time Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.3% Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2% The MSCI World Index was little changed Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin fell 0.2% to $66,809.10 Ether fell 0.5% to $2,057.19 This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
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