Asian Stocks Rise Led by Korea; Treasuries Slip: Markets Wrap

Asian shares edged higher, the dollar steadied and Treasuries slipped as the second quarter began for some of the region’s traders. Volumes are expected to be subdued with many markets across the world still closed for the Easter holiday.

Equities in Japan and South Korea climbed, while U.S. index futures showed small declines. The yen was steady as traders digested a poll showing improved support for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s cabinet. Chinese stock futures were little changed ahead of a private survey of purchasing managers. The won rose to its strongest against the dollar in over three years as tensions in the region showed further signs of easing. West Texas crude oil climbed past $65 per barrel.

Investor focus this week turns to U.S. labor market data Friday with unemployment expected to fall to its lowest since 2000. Traders are also awaiting details on U.S. plans for tariffs on China, amid concerns about an escalation in trade tensions that could disrupt global supply chains and hurt the outlook for corporate earnings.

Over the weekend an official gauge of activity at China’s manufacturers posted its first gain since November as factories recovered from a seasonal dip at the start of the year and export demand shrugged off threats of a trade war.

Elsewhere, Bitcoin remained below $7,000.

Here are some key events coming up this week:

• Easter Monday is a public holiday in many areas including the U.K., Australia, Canada, and most of Europe.
• U.S. manufacturing PMI and ISM manufacturing data due Monday.
• Reserve Bank of Australia April monetary policy decision due Tuesday.
• New York Fed debuts the Secured Overnight Financing Rate on Tuesday.
• Reserve Bank of India April policy decision due Thursday.
• U.S. employment data due Friday; jobless rate probably fell in March after holding at 4.1 percent for five straight months.

These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• Japan’s Topix index rose 0.2 percent as of 9:16 a.m. in Tokyo.
• South Korea’s Kospi added 0.8 percent.
• Futures on the S&P 500 slid 0.1 percent.
• The MSCI All Country World Index was down 1.4 percent for the first quarter, the first losing one since the start of 2016.

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1 percent.
• The Japanese yen was steady at 106.28 per dollar.
• The euro was little changed at $1.2318.

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose two basis points to 2.76 percent.

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.4 percent to $65.17 per barrel.
• Gold was flat at $1,325.50 an ounce.