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(Bloomberg) — U.S. equity-index futures and Asian stocks turned lower after an acrimonious American presidential debate that highlighted the risk of a contested vote. The dollar ticked higher and Treasuries were steady.
S&P 500 futures were about 0.6% lower after the sparring between President Donald Trump and Democratic hopeful Joe Biden ended. Futures earlier rose as much as 0.7% during the debate, well within the range of swings that have prevailed recently during one of the U.S. stock market’s more volatile stretches.
“What we’ve seen from the debate is the reinforcement that if Biden wins, Trump is not going to accept that,” said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone Group Ltd. in Melbourne. “People positioned for an ugly contest afterwards have been validated.”
Traders are also recalibrating positions on the final day of this quarter. U.S. shares on Tuesday declined as talks on expanding fiscal stimulus ended for the day with plans to resume discussions Wednesday.
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Equities in Hong Kong and China advanced as data showed Asia’s largest economy continued to recover from its slowdown. China Evergrande Group’s bonds and stocks climbed after the developer took a major step toward avoiding a cash crunch. China markets are shut from Thursday for a week of holidays. South Korea is closed Wednesday. Shares in Japan and Australia declined.
The China figures show the rebound indicated in August’s activity data continued and extended after a pause in July, said Patrick Bennett, head of macro strategy for Asia at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.
The outperformance of the yuan against the U.S. dollar and other major currencies year-to-date “has been underpinned by the rebound in the domestic economy, and an acceleration of foreign portfolio inflows,” he said. “We expect those influences to remain.”
The negotiations between the Trump administration and congressional Democrats on stimulus are reaching a critical juncture this week. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke Tuesday morning for 50 minutes and are set to speak again Wednesday.
Here are some key events coming up:
The EIA crude oil inventory report comes out Wednesday.The September U.S. employment report on Friday will be the last before the November election.
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
S&P 500 futures slid 0.6% as of 1:40 p.m. in Tokyo. The gauge fell 0.5% on Tuesday.Japan’s Topix index slid 1.2%.Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.2%.Shanghai Composite gained 0.5%.Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index slipped 1.9%.Euro Stoxx 50 futures slid 0.5%.
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose less than 0.1%.The yen was at 105.53 per dollar.The offshore yuan was at 6.8161 per dollar.The euro bought $1.1735.
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries was at 0.65%.Australia’s 10-year yield rose two basis points to 0.80%.
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1% to $38.89 a barrel.Gold was at $1,890.22 an ounce, down 0.4%.
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