Stocks fell, and the Japanese yen approached 150 against the dollar

Hong Kong-listed shares of some Chinese airlines rose briefly after a Bloomberg report that Chinese officials are discussing reducing the quarantine period for incoming travelers.

Soon after the report, China Southern Airlines stock is up about 3%, Air China is up about 2%, and China Eastern is up more than 1%. Since then the shares have pared most of their gains.

In Japan, ANA Holdings is also up 1.54% while Japan Airlines trading is up 1.36%.

Meanwhile, Cathay Pacific shares recently fell more than 2% and Korean airlines and travel-related shares continued to trade down about 2%.

– Jie Lee

Jeffrey Gundlach, CEO of DoubleLine Capital, said US Treasury yields “may be at their peak between now and the end of the year.”

“Notice how flat the long end is,” he said in a tweet, following up on the list of current yield levels. Exhaustion yield increase sign.

The 10-year treasury bond yield It rose to 4.154% after hitting its highest level since July 2008 during the US market session. The latter was at 4.1485%. The Two-year treasury bonds It was last traded at 4.5695% while 5 year note It traded at 4.3712%.

– Jie Lee

Oil prices rose on Thursday as markets shrugged off the announcement that the United States would release more crude from its reserves.

Brent crude futures contracts It jumped 0.85%, or $0.80, to stand at $92.41 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate US It rose more than $1, or 1.45%, to $85.55 a barrel.

“Upward pressure is coming from the OPEC+ production cuts and impending EU sanctions on Russian seaborne oil imports,” Vivek Dhar of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia wrote in a note.

He added that the release of 15 million barrels of US strategic oil stocks was already expected and “too small to affect the market.”

– Lee Ying Shan

Australia’s unemployment rate for September was unchanged from the previous month at 3.5%, According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics – In line with analyst expectations in a Reuters poll.

Diana Musina, chief economist at AMP Capital, said she expects the unemployment rate to remain at current levels in the near term before picking up next year.

“Employment growth will need to slow significantly to see a rise in the unemployment rate in the short term,” she wrote in a note.

– Abigail Ng

Recession fears are roiling markets, but the typical rules of play for a cover in sovereign bonds are “obsolete,” BlackRock says.

“In this environment, bond custodians are back and heralds the return of term premiums,” BlackRock said, adding that government bonds are weighing down.

The asset manager says investors can still buy other types of bonds.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

– Weezin Tan

China’s central bank kept benchmark lending rates unchanged for the second month in a row, matching the expectations of most analysts in a Reuters poll.

The People’s Bank of China said it will keep the one-year base loan rate at 3.65%, and the five-year rate at 4.30%, According to an advertisement.

The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) also announced earlier in the week that it will keep its medium-term policy loan rates steady.

– Jie Lee

Hong Kong-listed tech stocks fell sharply in early trade, with Hang Seng Tech down 4.6% and the broader Hang Seng tumbling.

heavy weight Ali Baba It was down 6.12% while Tencent disposal 4.26%.

Bilibili decreased by 7.75%, while JD.com It lost 5.82%. Mituan It fell 6.23%.

– Abigail Ng

Japanese yen It rose near 150 against the dollar, at levels not seen since August 1990. The last time was at 149.94 per dollar.

The yen was hovering around 159.8 levels in April 1990, and last breached 160 levels in December 1986.

Japanese officials commented on further weakness in the currency on Thursday, with Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki saying the government would take “appropriate steps against excessive volatility.” Reuters reported.

“Recent rapid declines in the Japanese yen are undesirable. We can never tolerate the excessively volatile moves driven by speculative trading,” he said.

– Jie Lee

Semiconductor stocks have been battered this year, but investors with a long-term view of the importance of chips to secular trends like 5G, electricity and artificial intelligence may look to buy the dip.

Hedge fund manager David Neuhauser shares one chip stock he loves.

Professional subscribers You can read more here.

– Xavier Ong

Japan’s trade deficit for September was 2.09 trillion yen ($13.97 billion). According to provisional figures from the government – Missed numbers estimated in a Reuters poll that forecast a deficit of 2.17 trillion yen.

The country posted a trade deficit of 2.82 trillion yen in August.

September exports were 8.82 trillion yen, while imports were 10.9 trillion yen.

Japan’s Ministry of Finance was quoted as saying in a Reuters report that Japan’s trade deficit in the first half of the 2022-2023 fiscal year is the largest ever.

The data showed that the Japanese fiscal year begins in April, and the deficit in the April-September period was 11 trillion yen.

– Abigail Ng

The offshore yuan touched a record low of 7.2745 against the dollar overnight as the Communist Party proceeded to the Chinese National Congress. The Maritime yuan Last traded at 7.2708 per dollar.

According to a note from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, “there is a very large uncertainty when the Chinese government relaxes its strict non-coronavirus policy.”

Analysts wrote that the strict measures are expected to remain in place until early 2023.

“The restrictions will prolong the period of weakness in the Chinese economy and keep AUD/USD and NZD/USD undervalued for a longer period and push USD/CNH to 7.30,” the note read.

risk sensitive Australian dollar It was weaker at $0.6264 in early Asia, while New Zealand dollar $0.5662 was traded.

– Abigail Ng

Investors monitored Treasury yields for signs of a recession on Wednesday even as the start of a stronger-than-expected earnings season helped markets rebound this week.

Of the 64 S&P 500 companies that posted third-quarter results through Wednesday, 69.4% beat expectations, according to FactSet data.

However, higher Treasury yields helped stocks return to “real life” on Wednesday, according to comments from LBL Financial’s Quincy Crosby. On Wednesday, the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.136%, or its highest level since July 2008.

“A steady 3-month/10-year reversal will reinforce the Treasury market’s signal that a recession is imminent, as it has a reputation for predicting a serious economic downturn,” Crosby wrote.

– Sarah Min