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Asia shares rise, U.S. futures slip
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Trump and Xi expected to speak this week
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Dollar hits six-week low before recovering slightly
By Rae Wee
SINGAPORE, June 3 (Reuters) - Asia shares edged slightly
higher on Tuesday while the dollar fell to a six-week low as
erratic U.S. trade policies clouded market sentiment and
investors turned defensive ahead of key developments later in
the week.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping
will probably speak this week, White House Press Secretary
Karoline Leavitt said on Monday, days after Trump accused
Beijing of violating an agreement to roll back tariffs and trade
restrictions.
The call between the two leaders will be closely watched by
markets, which have been roiled by tariff-induced trade tensions
between the world's two largest economies that continue to
simmer.
Data on Monday showed U.S. manufacturing contracted for a
third straight month in May and suppliers took the longest time
in nearly three years to deliver inputs amid tariffs.
"The May ISM showed tariff pressure is beginning to bite for
manufacturers who are seeing slowing activity, longer lead times
and declining inventories," said economists at Wells Fargo.
China's factory activity in May also shrank for the first
time in eight months, a private-sector survey showed on Tuesday,
indicating U.S. tariffs are starting to hurt manufacturers.
The gloomy global trade situation left U.S. futures falling
in the Asian session, failing to sustain the slight gains made
during the cash session on Wall Street overnight.
Nasdaq futures and S&P 500 futures were both
down more than 0.3% each. In Europe, EUROSTOXX 50 futures
and FTSE futures were up just 0.1%.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
reversed early losses to last trade 0.4% higher,
while Japan's Nikkei rose 0.1%.
"Trump really does have sentiment in the palm of his hands
once again," said Matt Simpson, senior market analyst at City
Index.
"I suspect we'll hear about 'a really great call' or words
to the effect," he said, referring to the expected call between
Trump and Xi.
"But we'll need to wait for confirmation from China, who
tends to take their time on these matters. Until we get concrete
confirmation, price action could be shaky and vulnerable to
false breaks ... we also have the June 4 deadline for 'best
trade deals' from U.S. trading partners to factor in."
The Trump administration wants countries to provide their
best offer on trade negotiations by Wednesday as officials seek
to accelerate talks with multiple partners ahead of a
self-imposed deadline in just five weeks.
In China, mainland markets returned from an extended break
on a muted note, with the CSI300 blue-chip index up
0.3% while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.4%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped more than 1%,
rebounding from Monday's one-month low.
PAYROLLS ON DECK
The dollar fell to a six-week low against a basket of
currencies early on Tuesday, ahead of Friday's U.S. nonfarm
payrolls data, which will offer a timely reading on the health
of the world's largest economy.
A rise in unemployment is one of the few developments that
could get the Federal Reserve to start thinking of easing policy
again, with investors having largely given up on a cut this
month or next.
The dollar index was last marginally higher at 98.86,
trimming some of its losses from earlier in the session.
The euro similarly scaled a six-week top before
paring some of its gains to last trade at $1.1421, while
sterling dipped 0.14% to $1.3525.
A softer U.S. jobs report would be a relief for the Treasury
market, where 30-year yields continue to flirt with
the 5% barrier as investors demand a higher premium to offset
the ever-expanding supply of debt.
The Senate this week will start considering a
tax-and-spending bill that will add an estimated $3.8 trillion
to the federal government's $36.2 trillion in debt.
"The evidence suggests term premium being re-priced
considerably higher to account for U.S. fiscal, trade, credit,
and geoeconomic risks alongside some hedge against (U.S. dollar)
debasement," said Vishnu Varathan, head of macro research for
Asia ex-Japan at Mizuho.
Against the yen, the dollar rose 0.2% to
142.92.
Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Tuesday the
central bank will raise interest rates once it is sufficiently
convinced that economic and price growth will re-accelerate
after a period of stagnation.
In commodities, oil prices rose on concerns about supply,
with Brent crude futures up 0.34% to $64.85 a barrel,
while U.S. crude gained 0.45% to $62.79 per barrel.
Spot gold retreated from a four-week high and last
stood at $3,362.10 an ounce.