(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks were little changed on Friday following the best month for global equities in more than seven years, with U.S.-China trade talks set to continue later this month. The yuan gave up a sliver of its recent advance.
Washington trade negotiations that had been tipped as “determinative” in the end broke up with an agreement to keep talking, as a March 1 deadline for tariff hikes looms. News that China plans to buy substantially more American agricultural and energy goods failed to light much fire under Asian shares already heading for a fourth straight weekly advance. U.S. futures were little changed after rising overnight, while European contracts pointed higher. Oil was around $54 a barrel in New York.
Treasuries retained most of their gains since the Federal Reserve’s pivot Wednesday toward a more neutral stance on monetary tightening. Ten-year yields at around 2.63 percent remain about 15 basis points below where they started last week and the dollar is on track for a second week of losses. It was little changed Friday.
Traders now turn their attention to Friday’s monthly U.S. labor report amid an ongoing earnings season that’s given investors mixed signals. Technology shares led gains in the U.S. overnight after some solid corporate reports, though Nasdaq futures pointed lower Friday following a tepid sales forecast from Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN).
Also on traders radar screens: any potential moves by China to shore up growth. A gauge of Chinese manufacturing came in weaker than expected Friday. The Barclays (LON:BARC) Plc economist who correctly called China’s interest-rate cut in 2014 says a similar move could come as soon as Friday.
Meantime, President Donald Trump and the China delegation said progress was made in trade negotiations in Washington. Next up, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer head to China in mid-February.
“The outlook is pretty good and markets can go a lot further,” Homin Lee, a macro strategist at Lombard Odier, told Bloomberg TV in Hong Kong. “Assuming there’s no further hiccups in the Fed communication, we can really see the rally continue for the remainder of the year.”
The pound was steady even as the European Union and U.K. appeared on a collision path over Brexit.
Among key events in the coming days:
- The coming week will see central banks reviewing monetary policy, including the Bank of England, in Australia, Brazil, Mexico, Russia, Serbia, Philippines, Thailand and India.
- Earnings season rolls on with notable releases from Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Toyota, BP (LON:BP) and Disney.
- Chinese financial markets will close next week for the Lunar New Year holiday.
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
- The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slid 0.1 percent as of 3:40 p.m. Hong Kong time. It rose 6.8 percent in January.
- Japan’s Topix index fell 0.2 percent.
- The Shanghai Composite rose 1.3 percent.
- Hang Seng slipped 0.1 percent.
- The S&P 500 Index rose 0.9 percent. Futures were flat.
- Euro Stoxx 50 futures advanced 0.4 percent.
Currencies
- The yen held at 108.89 per dollar.
- The offshore yuan dipped 0.6 percent to 6.7487 per dollar.
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed.
- The euro bought $1.1441, down 0.1 percent.
- The British pound slid 0.1 percent to $1.3098.
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 2.63 percent.
- Australia’s 10-year bond yield dipped three basis points to 2.21 percent.
Commodities
- West Texas Intermediate crude added 0.2 percent to $53.89 a barrel.
- Gold was down 0.2 percent at $1,318.73 an ounce.
