© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Passersby are reflected on an electric stock quotation board outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan April 18, 2023. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo
By Kevin Buckland
TOKYO (Reuters) – Stocks in Asia rose on Monday while Treasuries and the dollar kept their composure, as investors took their lead from Wall Street’s Friday rally, shrugging off a Moody’s (NYSE:) downgrade to the U.S. credit outlook.
Tech stocks stood out, as they had in the U.S. at the end of last week, after the calming of long-term Treasury yields since the start of this month boosted the outlook for borrowing-dependent growth shares.
were stable at around 4.646%, consolidating around the top of their range since Nov. 3, when softer labour market data spurred bets for a less hawkish Federal Reserve. The yield had been as high as 4.935% on Nov. 1.
The hovered below its post-payrolls-report high of 106.01, reached on Friday, last trading little changed around 105.80.
rose 0.46%, with chip-related shares providing the biggest boost. Taiwan’s tech-heavy equity benchmark rallied 1.17%.
Hong Kong’s gained 0.49% amid an outperformance in tech shares.
However, mainland Chinese blue chips were slightly lower, and Australia’s resource-heavy benchmark slipped 0.13%.
Nomura Securities strategist Naka Matsuzawa said equities are likely close to a peak.
“Up until now the market has been taking bad economic news as good news, because that would mean a pause in Fed rate hikes,” he said.
“But now, the Treasury market has already priced in a pause, so there’s not much room for Treasury yields to fall further,” removing a support for the stock market, he added. “In short, I don’t think the stock market rally is going to continue.”
The market paid little attention to a Moody’s announcement late on Friday that it had lowered its outlook on the U.S. credit rating to “negative” from “stable”.
The focus instead remains on upcoming economic data, with readings of U.S. consumer prices and retail sales due Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
Meanwhile, prices eased on Monday as demand worries trumped supply concerns, amid slowing growth in the United States and China. [O/R]
futures for January were down 35 cents, or 0.4%, at $81.08 a barrel, while the U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for December were at $76.82, down 35 cents, or 0.5%.
Both benchmarks gained nearly 2% on Friday as Iraq voiced support for oil cuts by OPEC+.
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