Wednesday 24 Apr 2024
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SYDNEY (July 9): Asian stocks pointed to gains after a positive Friday session on Wall Street as investors watched for developments in trade tensions between China and the U.S. before earnings season gets underway later this week. The dollar held losses and the pound rose.

Equity futures in Hong Kong, Japan and Australia nudged higher. The dollar comes off the back of its worst week since May and Treasury yields steadied close to the low end of their recent range as investors dissected a mixed U.S. jobs report on Friday and the trade rift with China ramped up a notch. The pound climbed amid optimism on Brexit discussions.

The start of earnings season this week may divert some attention away from the trade war that’s kept global stocks under pressure. China last week said it was retaliating over U.S. tariffs and President Donald Trump threatened to impose levies on even more Chinese goods. The escalating tit-for-tat is stoking market fears that the world economy could become destabilized amid a conflict that isn’t set to end anytime soon.

Elsewhere, investors will assess the impact of the flooding and landslides that killed at least 66 people in Japan, knocking out electricity and forcing many companies, including Amazon, Mazda and Panasonic, to halt some operations.

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