The yen and the won rose; The euro was flat 

Equities in Asia were mixed as investors assessed the latest news on U.S. tax-cut plans and looked ahead to Friday’s American jobs report. The Australian dollar took a hit and bond yields headed lower after retail sales data raised doubts about the strength of the economy.

Apple Inc. supported Nasdaq futures after its forecast for holiday sales topped estimates and suppliers of the iPhone maker climbed in Asia. The S&P 500 Index closed little changed as investors weighed the impact of House Republican leaders’ sweeping tax plan, which includes lowering the corporate tax rate to 20 percent from 35 percent. The dollar is headed for a weekly loss. Venezuela’s president said the nation will restructure its global debt as it struggles to meet its obligations.

Australia and Hong Kong equities gained, while South Korea’s main index was little changed. Bitcoin hit $7,000, climbing to a fresh record before paring the advance. With Japan closed for a holiday, there was little direction in Asian trading. U.S. employment probably surged in October, rebounding from a hurricane-depressed September, economists predicted ahead of the jobs report. U.S. Treasury yields dipped Thursday as President Donald Trump confirmed that Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell is his pick to chair the central bank.

President Nicolas Maduro said Venezuela will seek to restructure its global debt amid concern that the nation was headed for default. Venezuelan bonds trade at an average price of 36 cents on the dollar.

The weakest quarter for Australian retail sales in seven years sent the Aussie lower and bonds climbing. The Aussie dollar dropped as much as 0.4 percent back below 77 U.S. cents and bond yields extended declines as traders pushed back bets on the timing for an interest-rate increase.

In Korea, the current account surplus widened in September to a record high, helping a won rally that has taken the currency to the strongest since July.

Here are some of the remaining scheduled events this week:

• Trump starts an 11-day trip to Asia, his first as president, on Friday. Trade and security issues — particularly North Korea — will probably be in focus.
• Key data left in Asia this week includes PMIs for Hong Kong and Singapore, Hong Kong retail sales and Malaysian trade.
• The U.S. reports on trade balance.
• Air France-KLM, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and Societe Generale SA are among companies announcing results.
• iPhone X debuts in stores.

Here are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• Futures on the Nasdaq 100 Index advanced 0.3 percent as of 2:01 p.m. Hong Kong time after Apple’s results. Apple climbed 3.1 percent in after-hours trading.
• Futures on the S&P 500 Index were little changed. The underlying gauge was flat on Thursday.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.5 percent and South Korea’s Kospi index rose 0.2 percent.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.3 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.7 percent.
• Apple suppliers in Taiwan advanced. Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., the main assembler of Apple devices, rose as much as 1.8 percent; Wistron Corp., another Apple assembler, gained 2.5 percent and Genius Electronic Optical Co. climbed 2.8 percent.

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed after falling 0.2 percent on Thursday.
• The Aussie dollar lost 0.4 percent to 76.85 U.S. cents.
• The yen rose 0.1 percent to 113.98 per dollar.
• The won advanced 0.1 percent to 1,113.45 per dollar.
• The euro was flat at $1.1662. The pound was at $1.3071 after tumbling 1.4 percent on Thursday. The Bank of England raised rates on Thursday but signaled it’s in no hurry to do so again.

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell two basis points Thursday, to 2.35 percent. Treasuries will start Friday trading in London because of the Japan holiday.
• Australia’s 10-year yield decreased more than eight basis points to 2.57 percent.
• A A$500 million ($768 million) auction of 2 percent government bonds maturing in December 2021 drew a coverage ratio of 7.5 times, according to Australian Office of Financial Management.
• The average yield accepted was 2.0919 percent. The yield on 3-year bonds fell almost six basis points to 1.92.

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude rose by 0.4 percent to $54.78 a barrel, extending an advance on Thursday.
• Gold was steady at $1,277.09 an ounce.

Source: Bloomberg – Asia Stocks Trade Mixed as Apple Suppliers Rise: Markets Wrap

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