Key Points:
- Asia Set to Join Risk Rally as Dollar Weakens
- US equity futures climb following strong end to week
- Greenback gains pause while euro is among key advancers
Asian equities are poised to follow Wall Street’s Friday rally while major currencies regain some of the ground they lost to a surging dollar that’s rattled global markets.
US futures rose early Monday while contracts for Japan, Australia and Taiwan all pointed higher. Markets in China, Hong Kong and South Korea are closed for holidays.
The S&P 500 topped its 100-day average on Friday to snap a three-week losing streak and the Nasdaq 100 jumped more than 2%. Profitless tech firms, meme shares and Bitcoin all rallied.
The euro led gains versus the greenback in Asia after Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel signalled support for further interest-rate hikes in Europe. The yen was steady against the dollar, with investors on guard after officials in Tokyo increased their jawboning of the currency over the weekend.
nearly oversold levels. The Levkovich Index, a sentiment gauge, fell to -16 last week, a hair away from the -17 level that defines panic. Bank of America Corp.’s bull-and-bear indicator slid to the “maximum bearish” level — often seen as a contrarian buy signal.
Looking ahead, markets will be focused on the August consumer-price index due Tuesday, which is seen as one of the key reports before the next Fed rate decision. While an expected 8% rise in the CPI on the year would suggest inflation is cooling, the core measure that excludes food and energy is seen accelerating.