Stocks drift, dollar wobbles as markets bide time ahead of US data

By Rae Wee

SINGAPORE, May 15 (Reuters) - Stocks struggled for direction on Thursday while the dollar stumbled as the euphoria from market tailwinds earlier in the week fizzled out, with traders looking to US data later in the day for further catalysts.

US Treasury yields were elevated and the benchmark 10-year yield rose to a one-month top, in part due to worries over President Donald Trump's budget package that would add trillions of dollars to the US debt. US/

Investors were greeted with a plethora of good news earlier this week from a US-China trade-war truce to a raft of headline-grabbing investment deals from the Middle East during Trump's Gulf tour, in moves that breathed new life into battered global stocks.

But most of the optimism died down by Thursday, leaving MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan little changed and Wall Street futures slightly lower after notching marginal gains during the overnight cash session.

"We've had a huge party, everyone's hung over, and now we're just recuperating and waiting for the next big party," said Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG.

While the trade deal between the US and China gave markets some reason to cheer, the absence of clarity over Trump's trade policies has left markets with a sense of lingering uncertainty over the global economic outlook.

Investors were also waiting for further details of trade deals with other countries.

"I get the feeling there is a little bit of a reluctance to take the market higher from here," said Sycamore.

"I don't think foreign investors are going to be rushing back to that overweight position they've had in US equities because of that confidence that has been shaken during the events over the past couple of months, both from tariffs and lawmakers."

Nasdaq futures were down 0.02% while S&P 500 futures fell 0.13%. EUROSTOXX 50 futures eased 0.09% while FTSE futures ticked up 0.08%.

In Japan, the Nikkei was down 0.9%. China's CSI300 blue-chip index dipped 0.23% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was little changed.

For now, investors were awaiting Thursday's data on US retail sales and earnings from Walmart, a bellwether for the US retail industry, for a check on the pulse on consumer sentiment.

A disappointing outcome could feed fears of a recession in the world's largest economy, which would be a drag on markets.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is also scheduled to speak later in the day, where the focus will be on any clues regarding the outlook for US rates.

DOLLAR FRAGILE

In currencies, the dollar was struggling to extend its strong gains made at the start of the week, falling 0.44% against the yen and 0.3% against the Swiss franc to 146.13 and 0.8397, respectively.

Moves against the Korean won were particularly choppy for a second straight day, after news that South Korea's deputy finance minister Choi Ji-young met with Assistant Secretary for International Finance at the US Treasury, Robert Kaproth, to discuss the dollar/won market on May 5.

A report from Bloomberg that Washington is not negotiating for a weaker dollar as part of tariff talks helped calm currency markets, but concerns that the US administration is pursuing just such a strategy continue to keep investors wary.

The latest moves in the won were reminiscent of the unprecedented surge in the Taiwan dollar earlier this month.

The dollar was last down nearly 0.5% against the won at 1,400.70.

"While details are scarce and such discussions may be part of ongoing dialogue, it puts renewed focus on the scope for undervalued trade surplus currencies to appreciate in a weaker dollar environment," said analysts at Goldman Sachs in a note.

The Aussie  jumped after data showed Australian employment blew past expectations in April. It was last up 0.3% at $0.6448, extending gains from earlier in the session.

Elsewhere, oil prices slid on expectations of a potential US-Iran nuclear deal, while an unexpected build in US crude oil inventories last week heightened investor concerns about oversupply.

Brent crude futures were down 1.8% to $64.93 per barrel. US crude fell 1.9% to $61.95 a barrel.

Spot gold was little changed at $3,179 an ounce.

(Reporting by Rae WeeEditing by Shri Navaratnam)