Asia Stocks Set to Fall as Fed Rate Wagers Upended: Markets Wrap

2023-06-08 07:28

Stocks in Asia are poised to open lower in the wake of a slide on Wall Street as

Stocks in Asia are poised to open lower in the wake of a slide on Wall Street as traders boosted bets on a US rate hike after a surprise increase by the Bank of Canada.

Futures for shares in Australia, Japan and Hong Kong declined. Tech shares bore the brunt of jitters over higher rates, sending the S&P 500 down for a second day this week and the Nasdaq 100 to its worst day since April. Contracts on the US benchmarks were slightly lower in early Asian trading.

US Treasuries fell across the curve Wednesday, with the benchmark 10-year yield rising 14 basis points to 3.8%. Traders boosted wagers on Federal Reserve tightening, with swaps at one point fully pricing in a quarter-point hike for the July meeting, while those for next week’s decision edged higher but still pricing less than 40% odds of such an increase.

US stocks gained early in the session Wednesday, bringing the S&P 500 to the brink of a bull market. But that all ended abruptly after the Bank of Canada upended markets by unexpectedly restarting its rate-hiking campaign. The move also comes after the Reserve Bank of Australia earlier this week wrong-footed investors with an increase. Australia’s three-year note yield rose 13 basis points to 3.83%, the highest since 2012, early on Thursday.

“In marked contrast to the Fed, the Bank of Canada seems comfortable going into a meeting without its rate decision presignaled to the market,” said Deutsche Bank strategist Alan Ruskin. He expects a “hawkish hold” as the more likely decision from the US central bank.

Bridgewater Associates’ billionaire founder Ray Dalio said while interest rates won’t go much higher, the economy will get worse.

“We are at the beginning of a late, big-cycle debt crisis when you are producing too much debt and have a shortage of buyers,” Dalio said from the Bloomberg Invest conference in New York.