TEHRAN, June 06 - Asian stocks rose on Wednesday after tech sector strength lifted Wall Street shares while concerns about Italy’s debt prompted investors to move into lower-risk government debt elsewhere, pushing U.S. Treasury yields down from recent highs.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - Asian stocks rose on Wednesday after tech sector strength lifted Wall Street shares while concerns about Italy’s debt prompted investors to move into lower-risk government debt elsewhere, pushing U.S. Treasury yields down from recent highs.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS rose 0.7 percent. Japan's Nikkei .N225 rose 0.4 percent.
European spreadbetters predicted shares there would shake off concerns over Italian debt and open broadly higher as tech stocks globally continue to rise.
Britain's FTSE .FTSE was seen opening 0.1 percent higher, Germany's DAX .GDAXI gaining 0.2 percent and France's CAC .FCHI up 0.3 percent.
A firmer-than-expected print on first quarter growth lifted Australian stocks by half a percent.
The Nasdaq .IXIC closed at a record high for the second day in a row on Tuesday with help from the technology and consumer discretionary sectors, aided by the upbeat outlook for the U.S. economy. [.N]
But the S&P 500 .SPX dipped, with the financial sector hit by lower Treasury yields, which can reduce banks' profits.
Treasury yields fell as investors moved back into safe-haven government debt after Italy’s new Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte vowed to enact economic policies that could add to the nation’s already-heavy debt load. [US/]
On the other hand, the debt concerns caused Italian government bond yields to rise again after they had declined to one-week lows on Monday. [GVD/EUR]
“The Italian political situation will remain uncertain, and considering its potential impact on European Central Bank policy, market volatility could continue to be relatively high,” said Yoshinori Shigemi, global market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management.
The currency market’s response to comments from the new Italian prime minister was more positive, with the euro gaining after Conte said the government had no plans to leave the euro zone.
The euro was a shade higher at $1.1723 EUR= after gaining about 0.2 percent overnight. The currency had fallen to a 10-month low of $1.1510 on May 29 on worries about Italy exiting the euro zone.
The lingering concerns over tit-for-tat trade tariffs and the risk of a bigger global trade war remained in the background, weighing on investor sentiment.
In the latest developments, Mexico imposed tariffs on a range of American products, retaliating for U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision last week to remove an exemption on steel and aluminum for allies Mexico, Canada and the European Union.
PROTECTIONISM’S TOLL
Trump economic advisor Larry Kudlow also revived the possibility that the president will seek to replace NAFTA with bilateral deals with Canada and Mexico.
Source: Reuters
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