Asian stocks follow US gains on lower bond yields: markets wrap

Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks followed gains in the US as a decline in Treasury yields helped bolster the allure of holding equities. Traders are closely watching for any further news around President-elect Donald Trump’s planned administration.

MSCI’s gauge of regional shares climbed as much as 0.9% as benchmarks rose in Japan, Australia and South Korea. Chinese stocks were mixed. Bloomberg’s gauge of the dollar headed for a third day of losses as the so-called Trump trade that had bolstered the greenback and pushed up US yields has at least temporarily lost momentum.

The Nasdaq 100 outperformed Monday, halting a five-day run of losses, with Tesla Inc. jumping 5.6% on a news report Trump’s transition team is seeking to ease federal framework for fully self-driving vehicles.

“Asia equity markets are catching the tailwind from a better trading session in the US,” said Frederic Neumann, chief Asia economist at HSBC Holdings Plc in Hong Kong. “With US rates edging lower, this is giving risk assets a little relief across the region.”

Treasuries edged higher in Asia with the 10-year yield slipping one basis point to 4.41% after dropping three basis points in the US. The yen strengthened versus all its Group-of-10 peers.

Trump’s transition team is considering pairing Kevin Warsh, a former Federal Reserve official, in the Treasury secretary role, with hedge fund manager Scott Bessent as director of the White House’s National Economic Council, according to people familiar with the matter.

“A more measured and experienced team in financial leadership positions in the US government will be positive for investor confidence,” said Rajeev De Mello, a global macro portfolio manager at Gama Asset Management. “That has helped Asian equities and currencies.”

In Australia, the central bank sees its current policy settings as appropriate to try to pull down core inflation that is still “too high,” based on minutes of its November meeting. The Australian dollar and three-year sovereign bond yields held intraday declines after the minutes were published.

The S&P 500 rose 0.4% on Monday, while the Nasdaq 100 climbed 0.7%. The S&P 500 Index will advance through the end of next year amid continued US economic expansion and earnings growth, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s chief equity strategist David Kostin.

Bitcoin slipped in Asian trade after rising above $91,000 Monday. The crypto currency is back in the vicinity of an all-time peak, supported by a salvo of developments highlighting the deepening embrace of the digital-asset industry in the US under crypto cheerleader Donald Trump.

Oil was little changed after surging on Monday amid simmering geopolitical tensions. West Texas Intermediate rose to settle above $69 a barrel after the US gave Ukraine the green light to use long-range missiles inside of Russia, amping up tensions between the warring nations.

Gold extended gains as Goldman Sachs reiterated a forecast for prices to reach $3,000 an ounce next year.

Top Justice Department antitrust officials have decided to ask a judge to force Alphabet Inc.’s Google to sell off its Chrome browser in what would be a historic crackdown on one of the biggest tech companies in the world. The department will ask the judge to require measures related to artificial intelligence and its Android smartphone operating system, according to people familiar with the plans. DM