By Kevin Buckland
TOKYO (Reuters) – The U.S. dollar firmed in early Asian hours on Thursday as Treasury yields ticked higher while investors assessed the outlook for tariffs and the economy under President Donald Trump.
Asian stocks were mixed with tech shares around the region getting little steer from heavyweight U.S. chipmaker and AI darling Nvidia’s earnings overnight.
Cryptocurrency bitcoin languished below $85,000, while safe-haven gold was steady some $40 below its record high as trade war worries kept market sentiment fragile.
Trump clouded the outlook for looming levies on top trading partners Canada and Mexico on Wednesday by signalling they would take affect on April 2, which would be another month-long extension.
However a White House official later said the previous March 2 deadline for the levies remained in effect “as of this moment”, stirring further uncertainty about U.S. trade policy.
U.S. two-year Treasury yields rose to 4.09%, finding their footing following a slump to the lowest since November 1 at 4.065% in the prior session. The 10-year yield rose to 4.2772% from a low of 4.245% on Wednesday, a 2-1/2-month trough.
The dollar and U.S. yields have been under pressure in recent weeks as a run of soft economic indicators have combined with growth worries arising from Trump’s tariffs.
Traders have raised bets for Federal Reserve interest rate cuts in recent days, now seeing two quarter-point reductions this year, with the first likely in July and the next as early as October.
Markets will look at GDP and durable orders data due on Thursday for any stronger signs of slowdown, while the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) inflation rate, is due on Friday.
“Markets are starting to feel less confidence about U.S. growth,” said Shoki Omori, chief global desk strategist at Mizuho Securities.
“I think U.S. data surprises will continue to be towards the downside,” although as economists start to adjust their forecasts towards weaker outcomes, and with inflation still “sticky”, 10-year Treasury yields are unlikely to fall below 4%, Omori said.
In equities, Japan’s Nikkei added just 0.1%, Australia’s benchmark index climbed 0.5% and South Korea’s Kospi slid 0.7%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.9%, with tech shares outperforming, while mainland blue chips rose 0.2%. Taiwan shares advanced 0.2%.
U.S. Nasdaq futures were steady following a 0.3% rise in the regular session overnight, while S&P 500 futures were also little changed after the cash index ended the day flat.
Nvidia shares slipped 1.5% in extended trading following a 3.7% rally in regular trading on Wednesday. After the closing bell, the chipmaker published a strong growth forecast for the first quarter, although investors are accustomed to big beats from the company.
“Nvidia’s earnings came with much less volatility than expected,” said IG analyst Jun Rong Yeap.
“The absence of major surprises may have kept sentiment relatively calm,” Yeap said.
“Sellers may find fault with its slight gross margin decline, but … note that this stems from newer data centre products – ultimately beneficial for long-term growth.”
Bitcoin was steady at $84,742 following a more than 11% tumble so far this week.
Gold was little changed at $2,912 per ounce.
Crude oil ticked up from two-month lows it hit following a surprise build in U.S. fuel stockpiles.
Brent crude added 0.26% to $72.72 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures gained 0.23% to $68.78.
(Reporting by Kevin Buckland; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
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