HONG KONG (Reuters) – Asian stocks fell on Tuesday and European equity futures fell as a senior Chinese official expressed concern over the risk of asset bubbles in foreign markets and the recent sale of bond markets still it weighed on investor sentiment.
European markets seemed poised for a lower opening, with Euro Stoxx 50 futures down 0.38% and London’s FTSE down 0.4%. Those of the German DAX fell 0.49%.
MSCI’s broader Asia-Pacific stock index outside of Japan fell 0.33%, leaving first gains. Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.85% as some investors posted gains in defensive energy and utilities stocks before the end of this month’s fiscal year.
Australian equities ended marginally lower on Tuesday as the market appeared to show a silent response to the central bank’s decision to suffer interest rates, as expected.
The S & P / ASX 200 index fell 0.4% to 6,762.3 at the close of trading, after rising to 1% during the session.
Shares in mainland China and Hong Kong reversed the course to trade lower in the afternoon session after a senior regulatory official expressed concern about the risk of bubbles bursting in foreign markets and said Beijing is studying effective measures to manage capital inflows to avoid turmoil in the domestic market.
“Financial markets are trading at high levels in Europe, the United States and other developed countries, which is contrary to the real economy,” said Guo Shuqing, head of China’s Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission. press.
Chinese blue-chips fell 1.78%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1.45%.
Investors are now watching the annual session of China’s Parliament starting Friday, which is expected to chart a course for economic recovery and reveal a five-year plan to avoid stagnation.
US equities rose overnight, with the S&P 500 recording its best day in nearly nine months as bond markets calmed down after a one-month sell-off period.
“Risk appetite returned to markets as investors dismissed concerns about higher interest rates and focused on the recent strength of manufacturing data,” ANZ analysts wrote in a statement. ‘research.
U.S. equities fell last week when a sale to Treasury pushed the ten-year Treasury yield to a one-year high of 1.614%. Ten-year yields declined after trading, by 1.4119%.
Bitcoin fell 1.93% to $ 48,669, after rising nearly 7% Monday after cooling last week’s bond drop, and Citi said the most popular cryptocurrency was at a point of inflection and that it could become the preferred currency for international trade.
Still, demand for riskier assets did not hold back the dollar, typically seen as a safe haven currency, as investors opted for rapid growth and inflation in the United States. The US dollar index gained 0.207% in afternoon trading against a basket of currencies to stand at 91,205, in view of a three-week overnight success.
The Australian dollar fell 0.14% to $ 0.7758 after the RBA meeting.
A stronger greenback weighed on gold and the precious metal was on the defensive Tuesday at $ 1,715,8400 an ounce.
The exuberance of risky assets did not help the energy markets. Oil prices fell more than 1% overnight after data showed that growth in China’s factory activity slowed to a nine-month low in February, in part due to disruptions in lunar new year holidays. There were also fears among energy investors that OPEC might increase global supply after a meeting this week.
Brent crude fell 1.35% to $ 62.83 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate U.S. crude oil lost 1.34% to $ 59.83.
Report by Julie Zhu in Hong Kong; Additional reports from Koh Gui Qing in New York; Edited by Sam Holmes and Lincoln Feast.