Asian Stock Market: Trades mixed as China tests buyers
- Asian equities edge higher, except China, as US Treasury yields snap two-day uptrend.
- RBA minutes back ASX bulls, West versus Beijing scenario deteriorates.
- US Retail Sales, pre-Fed jitters remain in focus.
Asian shares stay mildly bid amid early Tuesday, tracking Wall Street benchmarks, as US Treasury yields retreat ahead of the European session. To portray the mood, MSCI’s index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan drops 0.18% but Japan’s Nikkei 225 rises over 1.0% by the press time.
Australia’s ASX 200 benefits from the RBA minutes, suggesting no immediate fears to the easy money policies, up 1.01% around 7,386. New Zealand’s (NZ) NZX 50 was on the same line while being the gainer of the region with 1.58% upside amid receding odds of the RBNZ action and upbeat expectations from NZ Q1 GDP, up for publishing on Thursday.
Elsewhere, India’s BSE Sensex and South Korea’s KOSPI were additional beneficiaries of the downtick in US Treasury yields.
However, China bucks the trend amid fears of another US-China tussle as American ship sails in the South China Sea. Additionally, Beijing’s accusations on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), to exaggerate China threat theory, also portray the West-China tension.
Wall Street benchmarks closed mixed with Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) crossing the upbeat performance of S&P 500 and Nasdaq. S&P 500 Futures extend the clues during Asia amid prevalent anxiety over the Fed’s next moves and a light calendar. However, the US 10-year Treasury yields drop for the first time in three days.
Moving on, Asian investors should pay attention to the US Retail Sales for early signals of Wednesday’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.
Read: US May Retail Sales Preview: Analyzing major pairs' reaction to previous releases