Asia stocks steady after US tech rout, yen slips as BOJ stands pat

Reuters: Asian stocks steadied on Friday, taking in stride the resumption of the US technology rout overnight, and European shares look set for a positive start following Thursday’s losses.

The Japanese yen remained near a two-week low against the dollar after the Bank of Japan left monetary policy unchanged as expected even as its US counterpart signalled further tightening.

It was trading 0.3% lower at 111.23 yen JPY=D4 per dollar after the BOJ left in place its program to buy Japanese government bonds, and kept its short-term interest rate target at minus 0.1% and its 10-year government bond yield target at around zero%.

As expected, the central bank offered a more upbeat view on private consumption and overseas economies, signalling its confidence that the recovery was gaining momentum.

Japan’s Nikkei advanced 0.7%, narrowing its loss for the week to 0.3%.

“The market was relieved that there was no mention of an exit strategy, at least for now,” said Yoshinori Shigemi, global market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped about 0.1%, on track to end the week down 0.85%.

Financial spreadbetters expect Britain’s FTSE 100, Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 to all open up about 0.2%.

Overnight, the Nasdaq led losses on Wall Street with a 0.5% drop, dragged lower by shares including Apple and Alphabet that tumbled on bearish analysts’ reports. The S&P 500 technology index also declined 0.5%.

The broader S&P 500 index fell 0.2% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.1%.

“It was a brutal day for the tech sector once again as investors are increasingly more worried about the (Federal Reserve) tightening cycle and how that would put a number of firms in trouble,” Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at ThinkMarkets in London, wrote in a note.

“The tech boom has been on the back of easy money and lower interest rates. Both of them are leaving town.”

South Korea’s KOSPI slipped about 0.1%, surrendering early gains. The biggest company, Samsung Electronics added 0.1%.

The second biggest firm, semiconductor concern SK Hynix, hit a 15-year high before pulling back to trade 0.2% lower.

The technology-heavy Taiwan index .TWII widened gains to 0.6%, with the biggest company, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. jumping 1.7% and Apple supplier Hon Hai Precision Industry surging 2.5%.

“This is long overdue... There’s a clear discrepancy, where Asia and emerging market tech names are still being discounted compared to their western counterparts,” said Kay Van-Petersen, global macro strategist at Saxo Capital Markets in Singapore.

“Historically that made sense, but politically, things are potentially a lot more stable in Asia than in developed markets as a whole.”

The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of trade-weighted peers, climbed to a two-week high.

Data overnight showing the number of Americans filing for unemployment fell more than expected last week, and better-than-expected business conditions in June bolstered the case for Federal Reserve tightening this year.

The index rose 0.1% to 97.539, extending Thursday’s 0.5% gain. It’s on track for a 0.3% rise this week.

On Wednesday, the Fed raised interest rates as widely expected, and also released some preliminary details of its plan to begin paring its $4 trillion-plus debt holdings.

Sterling GBP=D3 added almost 0.1% to $1.2769. On Thursday, it jumped to as high as $1.2795 on signs of a shift in the Bank of England’s stance on keeping interest rates at record lows.

But it fell back to close flat, as monetary policy uncertainty added to existing concerns about Britain’s political outlook after Prime Minister Theresa May failed to win a parliamentary majority in last week’s election.

In commodities, oil was subdued on continued worries over rising US gasoline inventories adding to already elevated global supply.

US crude CLc1 fell 0.1% to $44.49 a barrel, remaining near Thursday’s six-week low, on track for a 2.9% drop for the week.

Global benchmark Brent LCOc1 crept up 0.1% to $46.97, set to end the week 2.45% lower.

The dollar’s strength kept gold XAU= flat at $1,252.92 an ounce, failing to make up Thursday’s 0.6% drop. It is poised to close the week with a 1% loss, its second weekly decline.