U.S. Futures Drop, Stocks Mixed as Yields Jump: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) — U.S. equity futures fell and Asian stocks were mixed Tuesday amid a jump in Treasury yields as investors girded for interest-rate hikes by the Federal Reserve to quell high inflation.

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The two-year U.S. yield rose past 1% for the first time since February 2020, while the 10-year and 30-year yields also surged. Calls are growing for the Fed to act more quickly to contain price pressures.

Nasdaq 100 contracts underperformed and European futures were also in the red. U.S. markets will reopen later following a holiday. MSCI Inc.’s Asia-Pacific share gauge reversed earlier gains and turned lower.

The dollar rose and commodity-linked currencies fell. Oil climbed as geopolitical tensions stirred in the Middle East, underlining inflation risks. Brent reached the highest level since 2014.

The yen was lower after the Bank of Japan sat tight on accommodative policy while bumping up its inflation projection.

Global stocks have dipped this year, hurt by a retreat in U.S. shares. A key question now is whether company profits will revive sentiment despite higher costs, challenges from the omicron virus strain and tightening monetary policy in some key economies.

“It will be interesting to see if investors are tempted back in now that earnings season is underway,” Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda, wrote in a note. “The emergence of omicron may mean that many companies don’t enjoy the kind of performance that was expected before, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be plenty of positives to take away.”

JPMorgan Chase & Co. strategists contend that global corporate earnings will deliver significant beats this year, again defying doomsayers and skeptics.

In cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin traded around $42,000 and is down about 9% in 2022.

For more market analysis, read our MLIV blog.

What to watch this week:

Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, UnitedHealth Group and Netflix are among companies publishing earnings during the week
U.S. data includes Empire manufacturing Tuesday, housing starts Wednesday and jobless claims Thursday
Interest-rate decisions due from nations including Indonesia, Malaysia, Norway, Turkey and Ukraine, Thursday
EIA crude oil inventory report, Thursday

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

S&P 500 futures fell 0.4% as of 12:57 p.m. in Tokyo. The S&P 500 rose 0.1% on Friday
Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.9%. The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.8% on Friday
Japan’s Topix index was flat
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.1%
South Korea’s Kospi index fell 0.7%
China’s Shanghai Composite index rose 0.9%
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index lost 0.2%
Euro Stoxx 50 futures shed 0.3%

Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2%
The euro was at $1.1390
The Japanese yen was at 115.02 per dollar, down 0.3%
The offshore yuan was at 6.3503 per dollar, up 0.1%

Bonds

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield increased seven basis points to 1.85%
Australia’s 10-year bond yield was at 1.97%, up five basis points

Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.3% to $84.87 a barrel
Gold was at $1,816.31 an ounce, falling 0.2%