Hong Kong, June 28 (BNA): Asian stocks fell in early trading Tuesday, as investors took their cues from the volatile overnight Wall Street session, while oil prices rose after last week’s plunge.
Oil continued to rise as investors continued to weigh their concerns about an economic slowdown against concerns about the loss of Russian supplies amid sanctions related to the conflict in Ukraine, Reuters reported.
“The (oil) market has been boosted by news of a lack of supply,” analysts at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia said in a research note. “Political turmoil has reduced supply from two second-tier producers, Ecuador and Libya. Then there is the Russian oil price ceiling proposed by the G7.”
Early in the Asian trading day, the broadest MSCI index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.7%. The index is down 3.8% so far this month. US stock futures, the S&P 500 e-minis, were up 0.27%.
Australian shares rose 0.25%, while Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.5%.
China’s benchmark CSI300 index was down 0.4% in early trade. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng opened 0.36% lower.
US stocks on Monday ended a choppy trading session slightly lower with little catalyst to weigh on investor sentiment as they approached the halfway point of a year in which stock markets have come under fire for rising inflation fears and tightening Federal Reserve policy.
Major US stock indexes fell after volatility earlier in the session, with weakness in major interest rate-sensitive companies such as Amazon.com, Microsoft and Alphabet providing the largest drawdown.
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%, the S&P 500 lost 0.30% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.72%.
Oil prices rose as the Group of Seven countries promised to tighten pressure on Russia’s finances with new sanctions that include a plan to curb the price of Russian oil.
US crude rose 0.99% to $110.65 a barrel. Brent crude rose to $116.22 a barrel.
Treasury yields rose on Monday after capital and durable goods orders data, and pending home sales also surprised to the upside from the previous month.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond came to 3.1847% on Tuesday, compared to its US close of 3.194% on Monday. The two-year yield rose as traders expected the Fed funds rate to rise, touching 3.0974% compared to the US close at 3.123%.
The US dollar also fell against major rivals as investors weighed expectations on inflation and interest rate hikes. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of the currencies of other major trading partners, fell to 103.91.
Gold was a little higher. Spot gold was trading at $1,824.28 an ounce.