(Bloomberg) — Asian stocks are set to open lower on tech-led declines on Wall Street Friday as investors await a week that includes meetings from the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan.
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Australian and Hong Kong equity futures slipped in early trade, after US-listed Chinese shares fell 0.7% in New York. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday on Monday with the central bank due to meet on Friday. US stock contracts edged higher in early Asian hours.
In the year U.S. stocks fell on Friday as $4 trillion in options matured, pushing the equity-volatility VIX gauge from its lowest level since 2020. Big tech losses at Nvidia Corp. and Meta Platforms Inc led the way, with both falling 3.5%, erasing weekly gains for the S&P 500, while the Nasdaq 100 slipped 1.8%. The Fed’s policy decision is scheduled for Wednesday.
Derivatives contracts tied to stocks, index options and futures expired Friday — forcing traders to hold their current positions or start new ones. This time, it coincided with a rebalancing of benchmark indexes, including the S&P 500, another motivator for more stock trading.
The greenback gauge fell 0.4% last week, ending an eight-week winning streak as the dollar weakened against most of its G-10 peers in early trade on Monday. The Australian dollar and yen traded in narrow ranges. Treasury yields rose Friday, with the benchmark two-year yield closing above 5 percent.
In Asia, troubled Chinese developer Country Garden Holdings Co. faces more challenges Monday, including a vote on a local bond payment in three years. Meanwhile, Chevron Corp. in Western Australia. Union workers at liquefied natural gas facilities continued to strike for a second day of 24-hour stoppages, prolonging uncertainty over global oil supplies.
U.S. inflation fell to the lowest in more than two years as consumers grew more optimistic about the outlook for the economy, data showed Friday. New York State’s factory activity gauge unexpectedly expanded amid new orders.
A strong U.S. economy is likely to prompt the Fed to raise interest rates by one more rate this year and keep them at a higher rate next year, according to economists polled by Bloomberg News.
Some of the major activities in the markets are-
Shares
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S&P 500 futures were up 0.1% at 8:16 a.m. Tokyo time. The S&P 500 fell 1.2% on Friday
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Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.1%. The Nasdaq 100 fell 1.8%
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Hang Seng futures fell 0.6 percent
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S&P/ASX 200 futures were down 0.6%
Currencies
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The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed.
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The euro was little changed at $1.0664.
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The Japanese yen was little changed at $147.86.
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The offshore yuan was little changed at 7.2767 against the dollar.
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The Australian dollar was little changed at $0.6436.
Crypto currencies
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Bitcoin was little changed at $26,465.1.
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Ether was little changed at $1,616.79.
Bonds
Goods
This story was produced with the help of Bloomberg Automation.
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