(Bloomberg) — Asian stocks hovered near a record, following a tech-driven rally that pushed Wall Street to yet another peak. Shares in Hong Kong and mainland China fell.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index retreated from its session highs to trade little changed. Equities in Hong Kong fell 1% with the city facing its most damaging typhoon since 2018. Asian chip-related stocks rose after Nvidia Corp.’s investment in OpenAI. There is no cash trading of Treasuries during the Asian day as Tokyo is closed for a public holiday. The rupee fell to a new record low against the dollar.
Gold has hit record highs and stocks have surged $15 trillion from April lows, with the US economy holding firm through President Donald Trump’s tariff war and sentiment buoyed by the Federal Reserve’s first rate cut. That run now faces a test, with earnings season looming and investors awaiting fresh Fed signals, including a speech by Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday.
“The bias remains to be long US equity indices,” wrote Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone Group. “I see little reason – tactically and technically – to alter that stance, with pullbacks likely to be shallow and well supported.”
China’s benchmark CSI 300 Index fell as much as 1.2%, with some investors citing the need for a breather after a months-long rally. The Shanghai Composite Index was down as much as 1.3%.
“Stocks have not seen a proper drawdown since April and there has been little hesitation when punching through round number levels,” said Liu Dejun, a fund manager at Taiyue Investment Management Co.
In Hong Kong, super typhoon Ragasa poses a potential test for the city’s push to keep markets open during severe weather. Several loan bankers said they’ve been rushing to close deals before quarter-end — a move that could improve their rankings — after storm forecasts last week indicated potential impact on the city.
Trading volume in Hong Kong’s benchmark index was about 4% below the average in the last 30 sessions, according to Bloomberg-compiled data. The city’s airport is expecting major disruptions and shares of Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd., the financial hub’s biggest airline, fell for a fourth day.
Meanwhile, the Indian rupee declined to a fresh record low on Tuesday, weighed by concerns over higher US tariffs and visa fees. Trump’s steep hike in H-1B visa fees may hurt India’s services sector, curb remittance inflows, and weigh on the rupee, economists said.
A key focus for investors this week will be the Fed’s preferred gauge of underlying inflation. The reading likely grew at a slower pace last month, offering policymakers some breathing room to address weakness in the US labor market.
The report on Friday is forecast to show the personal consumption expenditures price index excluding food and energy rose 0.2% in August, compared with 0.3% in July. On an annual basis, the so-called core measure is seen holding at a still-elevated 2.9%.
Elsewhere, New Zealand is set to appoint a woman to head its central bank for the first time as it seeks to refresh an institution damaged by leadership turmoil, according to a person familiar with the matter.
In another twist, the new Reserve Bank of New Zealand governor is a foreigner, the person said, asking not to be named discussing market-sensitive information. They wouldn’t identify the new governor.
Corporate News:
The Trump administration linked Tylenol to autism and urged pregnant women to avoid the common pain medication despite the lack of widely accepted scientific evidence supporting the risk. Oracle Corp. accelerated its succession plans for top leadership in recent months following a massive acceleration in its cloud business and stock market rally. Zijin Gold International Co., which is currently taking orders to raise $3.2 billion in the world’s biggest initial public offering in months, may have to delay its trading debut in Hong Kong next week because of super typhoon Ragasa. Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
S&P 500 futures were little changed as of 1:26 p.m. Tokyo time Nikkei 225 futures (OSE) rose 0.4% Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.6% Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1% The Shanghai Composite fell 1.2% Euro Stoxx 50 futures were little changed Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro was little changed at $1.1799 The Japanese yen was little changed at 147.79 per dollar The offshore yuan was little changed at 7.1165 per dollar The Australian dollar fell 0.2% to $0.6586 Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin fell 0.5% to $112,243.01 Ether fell 0.3% to $4,174.59 Bonds
Australia’s 10-year yield was little changed at 4.27% Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.5% to $61.98 a barrel Spot gold was little changed This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from April Ma and Lianting Tu.
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