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S&P 500 futures rise 0.6%, euro firm above $1.08

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Traders brace for news on tariff barrage

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PMIs, US PCE, China earnings in focus

By Tom Westbrook

SINGAPORE, March 24 (Reuters) - Financial markets made

an mixed start on Monday with U.S. stock futures rising but the

dollar wavering ahead of a week driven by data, Chinese earnings

and the threat of steep U.S. tariff hikes on the horizon.

S&P 500 futures were up about 0.6% in the Asia

morning and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.8%. Japan's Nikkei

and Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed about 0.2%

The euro, which fell slightly last week, was up

about 0.2% at $1.0835 in early trade. In emerging markets,

Turkey's lira was on a knife's edge as the jailing

of President Tayyip Erdogan's main rival unsettles investors.

Shares in Australia-listed fibre-cement maker James Hardie

fell 12% after it said it would buy U.S. outdoor

building products maker AZEK Company ( AZEK ) for $8.8 billion

in cash and stock.

The week holds global purchasing managers index gauges, the

U.S. Federal Reserve's preferred inflation reading, inflation

data in Australia and Japan, a budget update in Britain and

major earnings in China.

But it is likely to be updates on U.S. President Donald

Trump's plans to for global reciprocal tariffs from April 2 that

drives markets, and after a volatile month for stocks, bonds and

currencies, analysts said there is no obvious trade ahead.

"It's very difficult to really devise a structural

playbook," said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone.

"You've got to put your mind into the head of the consumer

and households," he said, since it has been fears of a slowdown

in the world's biggest economy that has led to weeks of selling

dollars and stocks and a strong rally for Treasuries.

"Anything that feeds into this higher probability of

recession, higher probability of a stagflationary environment

... or that price pressures aren't transitory is where we start

to get panicky a bit."

Trump has vowed to impose a complicated barrage of tariffs

next week, the details of which are not clear save that they are

to be calculated to reflect the impact of foreign tariffs as

well as foreign value-added taxes on imports.

The S&P 500 eked out a gain on Friday after Trump

hinted at flexibility, but after a rollercoaster first two

months in power - including tariff hits on China, Mexico and

Canada - traders are shy of betting that Trump is ready to cut

deals.

Ten-year U.S. Treasury yields have fallen nearly

40 basis points from mid-February highs and were last steady at

4.27% and investors have been drawn abroad from U.S. stocks,

with sharp rallies in Hong Kong and Europe as Wall Street fell.

Hong Kong shares are up 18% so far this year, the largest

gain of any major market, but a drop of 4.4% over two sessions

late last week pointed to a pause in the flow of money while

traders consider their - and Trump's - next moves.

Earnings at automaker BYD, video platform

Kuaishou ( KUASF ) as well as Chinese banks and several property

developers will be in focus. In the U.S., discount retailer

Dollar Tree ( DLTR ) and up-market athletic clothier Lululemon

are on the calendar.

Gold sat just shy of last week's record high, buying

$3,021 an ounce, while bitcoin held at $85,860.

"Cash and safe havens remain the counterbalance to any

larger shift in strategy," said Bob Savage, head of markets

macro strategy at BNY in a note to clients.

"We expect a series of diplomatic meetings to avert extreme

tariffs eventually, but not by April, leaving the sequencing

concerns over Trump's policy shifts continuing to move markets

with ongoing economic uncertainty."