BOSTON, Aug. 11 (Reuters) – Asian stocks were put up for trading on Wednesday after Wall Street went into growing uncertainty over an additional round of U.S. fiscal stimulus.
New Zealand opened the region on a gruesome note after the Pacific nation reported its first coronavirus infections in more than 100 days, sending its largest city back into lockdown.
Despite the mixed sentiment, safe haven gold remained under pressure after placing its worst one-day route in seven years on a broader lift in risk appetite earlier in the session.
Elsewhere in Asia, Australia’s S & P / ASX 200 increased 0.2% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 0.3%. Futures of Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 0.21%.
U.S. stocks closed lower Tuesday, with the S&P 500 and Dow snapping a seven-day winning streak and falling late in the session over growing uncertainty over a stablemate in Washington over a fiscal stimulus action.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.38%, the S&P 500 lost 0.80%, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.69%.
The decline of the day came when political gridlock between the Republican White House and Congressional Democrats over coronavirus relief continued for a fourth day, with each party blaming the other for unrest.
The other major political news from the US was Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden who selected Senator Kamala Harris as his choice of vice president, making her the first Black woman on a presidential card for major parties in American history.
E-mini futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.16% in Asia on Wednesday.
The dollar rose higher, while the euro on Tuesday posted earlier gains in choppy trading as risk appetite came after the impasse in stimulus negotiations.
In New Zealand, the benchmark S & P / NZX 50 index fell almost 2% and the currency fell against the dollar when Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that she would reopen Auckland after four new cases of COVID-19 were discovered in the city.
“If the lockdowns are removed after three days, the damage to the New Zealand economy would be small,” Joseph Capurso of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia wrote in a note on Wednesday.
Despite the new cases, New Zealand’s central bank is expected to keep rates stable at its policy meeting later on Wednesday amid signs of improvement in the economy.
The Japanese yen did not change much against the greenback at 106.48 per dollar, while Sterling was last flat at $ 1.3050.
The Australian dollar barely bid at $ 0.715.
The stronger dollar was no help for already successful precious metals. Spot gold prices fell near 6%, the biggest one-day drop in more than seven years and silver fell over 15%, its biggest daily drop in more than a decade.
U.S. Treasury revenue jumped Tuesday to a one-month high, a day before the government sold its largest ever 10-year notes. Yield of benchmark 10-year jumped six basis points to 0.635%, after previously reaching 0.661%, the highest since July 13th. They are up from a low of 0.504% on Thursday.
Oil prices fell about 1% on Tuesday after rising earlier in the session, as hopes dimmed for a quick stimulus resolution. Brent crude futures fell 49 cents, or 1.1%, to settle at $ 44.50 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 33 cents, or 0.8%, to end at $ 41.61 per barrel.
Report by Lawrence Delevingne in Boston; Edited by Sam Holmes
.
