Early Traders Review: The Euro and Yen up against the Dollar; Asian Stocks fell 

Asian stocks fell with emerging-market currencies after the latest U.S. move to place a further tranche of tariffs on Chinese goods and amid signs some central banks are struggling to stabilize their currencies. The dollar maintained gains.

Shares in Hong Kong and China led declines, with Japanese markets closed for a holiday, after news that President Donald Trump instructed aides to proceed with tariffs on about $200 billion more in Chinese products. Copper and nickel dragged industrial metals lower, while emerging-market currencies weakened, led by a slide in India’s rupee and the Korean won. Futures signaled small losses for stocks when trading starts in London and New York. The 10-year Treasury yield hit 3 percent on Friday.

Equities in Asia had made an attempt to rebound at the end of last week amid some signs the U.S. and China will enter talks and calm trade concerns. That was upended Friday when people familiar with the matter said Trump gave his aides instructions to proceed with more tariffs despite his Treasury Secretary’s attempt to restart talks with Beijing. China is considering declining the Trump administration’s offer of trade talks later this month after this fresh threats of tariffs from Washington, the Wall Street Journal reported.

India’s rupee tumbled as traders deemed the latest measures by the authorities to rein in the currency’s decline as inadequate. Read more on that here.

Elsewhere, oil pared gains from Friday ahead of an OPEC meeting in Algiers. Russian and Saudi Arabian energy ministers met in Moscow at the weekend and both confirmed a commitment to stability in the market.

Here are some key events coming up this week:

• Indonesia trade data comes Monday.
• The Bank of Japan holds its policy meeting.
• South Korean President Moon Jae-in visits Pyongyang for a summit with Kim Jong Un Tuesday.

These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 1.6 percent as of 1:12 p.m. in Hong Kong.
• South Korea’s Kospi index lost 0.9 percent.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.3 percent.
• Shanghai Composite Index dropped 1 percent.
• India’s S&P BSE Sensex lost 1.2 percent, extending two weeks of declines.
• Futures on the S&P 500 were down 0.2 percent. The underlying gauge rose less than 0.1 percent Friday.
• Futures on the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index slipped 0.2 percent.

Currencies

• The yen gained 0.1 percent to 111.99 per dollar.
• China’s offshore yuan was little changed at 6.8764 per dollar.
• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index ticked lower after increasing 0.3 percent Friday.
• Indian rupee dropped more than 1 percent to reach 72.6725 per dollar, adding to three previous weeks of declines.
• The euro bought $1.1633, up 0.1 percent.

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries increased three basis points to 3 percent Friday. The market for Treasuries will start trading in London because of the holiday in Japan.
• Australia’s 10-year bond yield added two basis points to 2.62 percent.

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.1 percent to $68.95 a barrel.
• Gold was little changed at $1,195.83 an ounce.
• LME copper lost 1.3 percent to $5,895.50 a metric ton.

Source: Bloomberg – Asian Stocks Decline as Trade Concerns Resurface: Markets Wrap

---