(Bloomberg) -- Asian shares declined and currencies fluctuated amid caution in markets as investors await highly anticipated inflation data later Thursday.
Stocks fell Japan, China and South Korea while US futures inched up after a sixth consecutive decline for the S&P 500, which fell to the lowest level since November 2020. The dollar held on to recent gains and the yen crept back from a fresh 24-year low that has put traders on watch for intervention from Japan.
Investors are on tenterhooks as they await US consumer price figures that may determine if the Federal Reserve delivers a fourth-straight outsized hike in interest rates, piling more pressure on an already struggling world economy. Minutes released on Wednesday from the Fed’s last meeting suggested some officials considered reducing the pace of rate hikes, which triggered a brief surge on Wall Street that quickly unwound.
“The Fed needs data to start finding an off-ramp,” Carol Schleif, deputy chief investment officer at BMO Family Office, said on Bloomberg Television. “That’s a tough market to be in. Until we get a bunch more data, markets will have to figure out how to find their footing.”
Read more: Top-Ranked Chartist Says Gaming Out Fed Pivot Is ‘Fool’s Errand’
The pound declined slightly in Asia after a busy day of bond buying from the Bank of England, which reiterated the view that its emergency support for the gilt market would cease on Friday, contradicting a media report that suggested it could endure.
The Biden administration is considering adding aluminum to economic sanctions against Russia. Vladimir Putin said any energy infrastructure in the world is at risk after the explosions on the Nord Stream pipelines. Oil benchmarks made small gains after falling more than 2% on Wednesday.
Key events this week:
- Earnings this week include: JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc., Morgan Stanley, BlackRock Inc., Delta Air Lines Inc., UnitedHealth Group Inc., U.S. Bancorp, Wells Fargo & Co.
- US CPI, initial jobless claims, Thursday
- G-20 finance ministers and central bankers meet, Thursday
- China CPI, PPI, trade, Friday
- US retail sales, business inventories, University of Michigan consumer sentiment, Friday
- BOE emergency bond buying is set to end, Friday
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
- Futures on the S&P 500 rose 0.3% as of 10:50 a.m. Tokyo time. The S&P 500 fell 0.3%
- Futures on the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.2%. The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.1%
- The Topix Index fell 0.6%
- The S&P ASX Index rose 0.4%
- The Hang Seng Index was steady
- The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.2%
- Euro Stoxx 50 futures fell 0.2%
Currencies
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
- The euro was unchanged at $0.9703
- The Japanese yen rose 0.1% to 146.82 per dollar
- The offshore yuan was little changed at 7.1751 per dollar
Cryptocurrencies
- Bitcoin fell 0.2% to $19,109
- Ether fell 0.2% to $1,294
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 3.92%
- Japan’s 10-year yield was little changed at 0.25%
- Australia’s 10-year yield advanced six basis points to 4.01%
Commodities
- West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.2% to $87.41 a barrel
- Spot gold was little changed