Two-year yields slipped to 3.9324%. They are
higher than the six-month low of 3.555% hit on Friday but well
below the almost 16-year high of 5.084% hit on March 8.
By Tuesday afternoon, oil prices softened with U.S. crude dipping 0.08% to $72.75 a barrel. Brent crude fell to $77.79 per barrel.
Overnight, oil prices rose more than $3 on Monday as a
halt to some exports from Iraq's Kurdistan region added to
worries about oil supplies while a U.S. banking acquisition
eased worries that financial turmoil could hurt the economy and
curtail fuel demand.
Gold was slightly higher. Spot gold was traded at
$1,958.13 per ounce.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
World FX rates YTD Global asset performance Asian stock markets ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
(Editing by Sam Holmes)
By Xie Yu
HONG KONG, March 28 (Reuters) - Global stocks rose and
the dollar softened on Tuesday, as a deal backed by the U.S.
regulator for First Citizens BancShares to buy failed Silicon
Valley Bank soothed wider worries about problems in the sector.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged up 0.6% by early afternoon Hong Kong time.
U.S. stock futures, the S&P 500 e-minis , rose 0.1%.
Australian shares jumped around 1%, as lithium and commodity
stocks rallied sharply after battery metals explorer Liontown
Resources rejected a $3.7 billion buyout bid from
Albemarle Corp.
Top U.S. banking regulators said on Monday they planned to
tell Congress that the overall financial system remains on solid
footing after recent bank failures, but will comprehensively
review their policies in a bid to prevent future collapses.
As fears eased, so did demand for the safest assets with the
U.S. dollar index - which gauges the currency against six
peers - off 0.14% to 102.6 during Asian trading, extending
Monday's 0.35% drop.
Asian currencies broadly firmed, with the Malaysian ringgit
hitting a five-week high.
The concerns, however, haven't completely gone away as
Federal Reserve Governor Philip Jefferson said on Monday that
stress among small banks could hit small businesses hardest.
"This round of uncertainty that we're seeing, it will likely
continue for some more time," said Manishi Raychaudhuri,
Asia-Pacific head of equity research at BNP Paribas. "We haven't
seen the end of it." He expects continued volatility for global
markets going forward for at least one or two quarters.
In addition to concerns about any contagion caused by
developed market banking woes, markets have also been jostled by
wild shifts in expectations about what central banks in the
United States and Europe might do next, Raychaudhuri said.
"On one day, the market expects maybe a 25 basis points or
maybe a 50 basis points rate hike. Just in a matter of one or
two days, that outlook is changed to 50 basis points rate cuts
in the second half of the year," he said.
In China, the benchmark was almost flat, while the
Hong Kong benchmark added 0.5%, as the re-emergence of
Alibaba founder Jack Ma on Monday helped to quell some
concerns of its private sector after a bruising two-year
regulatory crackdown.
"Ma's return to business would be a strongly positive sign
for China’s tech industry," said Brock Silvers, chief investment
officer at private equity firm Kaiyuan Capital.
"But the reason behind Ma’s reappearance isn't yet clear...
Market watchers will quickly deduce whether Ma's visit was a
one-off event or perhaps something more," he said.
In early European trade, the pan-region Euro Stoxx 50
futures rose 0.32% and German DAX futures and
FTSE futures both added around 0.3%.
On Monday, the S&P 500 ended slightly higher as a deal for
Silicon Valley Bank's assets helped to boost bank shares, while
technology-related stocks dipped amid profit taking after a
strong quarter.
U.S. Treasury notes nursed some losses by Monday early
afternoon. Yields rose overnight on optimism that stress in the
banking sector could be contained and as the Treasury Department
saw soft demand for a sale of two-year notes.
Benchmark 10-year yields slipped to 3.5129%,
down from its U.S. close of 3.528% on Monday.
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