Asian stock markets traded mixed Friday; Japanese yen and euro rose 

Asian stock markets traded mixed Friday, while the dollar steadied after President Donald Trump waded into the unusual public discussion over exchange rates. Trump said that he favored a strong greenback, just a day after his Treasury secretary endorsed a weaker dollar as good for trade, sending the currency down.

Japanese stocks fell while those in South Korea and Hong Kong climbed. Markets in Sydney are closed for the Australia Day holiday. The yen steadied after paring earlier losses and the euro climbed alongside the pound. Treasuries were little changed.

The S&P 500 closed virtually unchanged after erasing an earlier rise, with investors assessing the impact of the greenback’s gyrations on equities. In late trading, Intel Corp. rallied after topping estimates and Starbucks Corp. shares retreated.

Trump’s comments roiled a market where traders are already on edge after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Draghi engaged in public discussions of currency levels. The volatility risks spurring a reassessment of the global risk-on rally that’s stretched valuations across asset classes. Investors are also casting a watchful eye on the World Economic Forum in Davos, where Trump will deliver a keynote speech as his administration ramps up protectionist rhetoric.

“You tend not get too many comments on the dollar’s value from either Treasury secretaries or presidents; it’s a rare event. So the market tends to pay attention when they do happen,” Shahab Jalinoos, global head of foreign-exchange strategy at Credit Suisse, said by phone. “The market can easily imagine the idea that this White House might well change its stance on the currency.”

Elsewhere, West Texas oil trimmed a weekly advance after surging to the highest level in more than three years Wednesday. Bitcoin steadied above $11,000.

Here’s what to watch out for this week:

• Trump speaks in Davos at the annual World Economic Forum.
• The U.K. House of Lords is considering Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit bill this week.

These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• The MSCI Asia Pacific Index declined 0.2 percent as of 3:03 p.m. Tokyo time.
• Topix index fell 0.3 percent.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.3 percent.
• Kospi index rose 0.3 percent.
• Futures on the S&P 500 Index rose 0.1 percent.

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2 percent.
• The Japanese yen rose 0.1 percent to 109.33 per dollar.
• The euro rose 0.3 percent to $1.2429.

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose less than one basis point to 2.62 percent.
• Japan’s 10-year yield dipped one basis point to 0.078 percent.

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.2 percent to $65.36 a barrel.
• Gold rose 0.3 percent to $1,352.58 an ounce.
• LME copper fell 0.2 percent to $7,127.00 per metric ton.

Source: Bloomberg – Asian Stock Markets Mixed as Dollar Fluctuates: Markets Wrap

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