Friday 29 Mar 2024
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SYDNEY (Aug 16): Asian stocks looked set for declines after technology shares slumped on earnings and copper sank into a bear market, weighing on commodities. Treasuries gained.
    
Futures indicated declines for stocks from Sydney to Hong Kong. U.S. benchmarks closed lower led by the Nasdaq 100 Index and crude oil slipped below $65 a barrel following a report that American stockpiles rose the most since March 2017. The dollar strengthened as investors sought its safe haven status and the yen gained. Emerging market shares fell within striking distance of a bear market.

The lira spiked as Turkey moved to deter short-selling of the currency while Qatar promised Wednesday to invest $15 billion in the Turkish economy to help the country avert a financial crisis.

Investor caution is returning even with the rally in American stocks just one week away from becoming the longest in history. Markets have been rocked over the past week as turmoil in Turkey weighed on sentiment across many emerging- and developed-nation assets.

Elsewhere, metals took a hammering. Palladium dropped more than 7 percent to a one-year low and copper fell more than 4 percent.

Here are some key events coming up this week:

* Australia jobs data is coming Thursday. 

* Earnings are still to come from companies including Maersk and Carlsberg.

* Brexit talks between the EU and the U.K. resume in Brussels Thursday.

These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

* Futures on Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.7 percent in Singapore. 

* Futures on Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slid 1.3 percent. 

* Futures on Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index lost 0.8 percent. 

* The S&P 500 dropped 0.8 percent and the Nasdaq 100 fell 1.2
percent.

* The MSCI Emerging Market Index fell 1.8 percent, taking its slide since its January high to 19.6 percent.

Currencies

* The yen held at 110.72 per dollar after rising 0.4 percent. 

* The offshore yuan was at 6.9440 per dollar after sliding 0.6 percent. 

* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2 percent to the highest since June 2017.

* The euro bought $1.1347.

Bonds

* The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined four basis points to 2.86 percent.

Commodities

* The Bloomberg Commodity Index fell 1.9 percent to the lowest since July 2017.

* West Texas Intermediate crude slid 3.2 percent to $64.90 a barrel. 

* LME copper sank 4 percent to $5,801 per metric ton.

* Gold was at $1,174.81 an ounce, having slid 3 percent this week.

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