Author: Ray Wee
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Asian shares drifted in and out of positive territory on Monday due to weakness in Chinese stocks, but Bitcoin hit a three-month high as “Trump deals” continued to increase.
Gold has hit another record high amid Middle East conflict and the very impending US presidential election, with the yellow metal expected to remain favored amid much global uncertainty.
Optimism about China’s slew of stimulus measures, first announced in late September, has given way to caution in recent days as investors eye details on further fiscal support from policymakers.
China cut its benchmark lending rates on Monday, but the move was expected.
Hong Kong stocks were last down 0.6%, while China’s blue-chip index fluctuated between losses and gains. Last time it rose 0.4%, the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.36%.
This brought the biggest gain in the MSCI Asia-Pacific index excluding Japan to just 0.11%, a step back in sentiment after U.S. stocks recorded their sixth straight week of gains on Friday.
Japan’s Nikkei index rose 0.34%.
It may be some time before details about China’s stimulus package emerge.
“The National People’s Congress Standing Committee’s specific plan may have to wait until late October or early November,” said Chaoping Zhu, global market strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management.
american elections
With the US presidential election on November 5 just two weeks away, betting on Donald Trump’s victory is increasing in some financial products.
The Republican candidate’s tariffs, taxes and immigration policies are seen as inflationary, which is negative for bonds and positive for the dollar. He is also known to take a more friendly stance on cryptocurrency.
“(Now) Trump appears to be ahead in key battleground states, which suggests he is very well positioned to retake the White House. Markets have seen stronger stocks in the past week, higher yields and the greenback clearly rising. “It’s very good,” said Tony Sycamore, market analyst at IG. “Bitcoin prices are up 10% over the past week.”
Bitcoin last rose 0.5% to $69,100 after hitting $69,487 earlier in the session, its highest level since July. The world’s largest cryptocurrency rose 9.6% last week and is up more than 8% for the month to date.
“Things are looking very good for Bitcoin right now. I think it can continue to rise,” Sycamore said.
The dollar hovered not far off a two-month high against a basket of currencies on Monday, with the dollar index closing at 103.46.
Sterling was down 0.02% at $1.3045, while the euro was down 0.01% at $1.0865.
In the bond market, the yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds rose 1bp to 4.0907%, and the yield on 2-year maturity recorded 3.9568%. [US/]
Spot gold hit a high of $2,727.39 per ounce, continuing its upward trend after rising more than 2% last week.
“Given Trump’s belligerent stance on trade and willingness to weaponize the dollar, one of the clearest trades so far has been gold,” said Arun Sai, senior multi-asset strategist at Pictet Asset Management. He said. .
Oil prices rose on Monday, following a steeper decline than last week. [O/R]
Brent crude futures rose 0.4% to $73.36 per barrel, while U.S. crude futures rose 0.43% to $69.52 per barrel.
(Reporting by Rae Wee; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
