U.S. Futures Rise, Asia Steady; Bonds Trim Gain

U.S. and European equity futures rose Wednesday and Asian stocks edged up. Treasuries trimmed a rally spurred by Federal Reserve officials again predicting transitory price pressures. MSCI Inc.’s Asia-Pacific share gauge climbed for a fifth day amid modest gains in Hong Kong and China, where the onshore yuan hit the highest level since June 2018. Wall Street stocks were hampered overnight by softer new home sales and consumer confidence data.

Treasury yields are well below this year’s highs, with more Fed officials joining a chorus downplaying price pressures. The dollar slipped. Oil was steady and gold erased 2021 losses. Bitcoin climbed toward $40,000 in a partial recovery from last week’s crypto rout.

Stocks
S&P 500 futures rose 0.3% as of 1:15 p.m. in Tokyo. The gauge fell 0.2%.
Nasdaq 100 contracts climbed 0.3%. The index added 0.1%.
Japan’s Topix index added 0.1%
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index was little changed
South Korea’s Kospi index shed 0.3%
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 0.8%
China’s Shanghai Composite Index increased 0.3%
Euro Stoxx 50 futures rose 0.4%

Currencies
The yen was at 108.74 per dollar
The offshore yuan traded at 6.3852 per dollar, up 0.4%
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dipped 0.2%
The euro was at $1.2260

Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose about one basis point to 1.57%
Australia’s 10-year yield slid two basis points to 1.67%

Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude was at $65.92 a barrel, down 0.2%
Gold added 0.4% to $1,906.70 an ounce, up 0.4%

U.S. Futures Rise, Asia Steady; Bonds Trim Gain: Markets Wrap, Bloomberg, May 26