(Bloomberg) -- The yen climbed and the yuan edged lower after new U.S. tariffs kicked in on Chinese goods and data showed further deterioration in China’s manufacturing sector.
Stock futures pointed to a mixed start on Monday, when Treasuries and U.S. equity markets will be shut for the Labor Day holiday. President Donald Trump’s new tariffs on $110 billion in Chinese imports came into effect on Sunday, as did retaliatory levies by China.
Investors are still reeling from a volatile August that saw a collapse in Treasury yields and declines for global equities. A drop in the official China purchasing managers’ index on Saturday highlighted the pressure facing the world’s second-largest economy from weaker demand and escalating trade tensions with the U.S.
“There is a long way to go,” said Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy at AMP Capital Investors Ltd. in Sydney. “Share markets may still have to fall further to pressure Trump to resolve the issue.”
Elsewhere, Argentina’s government is imposing currency controls to halt the flight of dollars out of the country as it teeters on the brink of default. In the U.K., Boris Johnson all but sounded the election gun and told lawmakers from his party to back his Brexit plan or risk having to find another party.
Here are some key events coming up:
- Australia sets monetary policy on Tuesday.
- Fed speakers include New York Fed’s John Williams on Wednesday and Fed chair Jerome Powell on Friday.
- The U.S. jobs report on Friday is projected to show nonfarm payrolls rose by 165,000 in August, slightly above the month prior. Estimates of the employment situation are for unemployment steady at 3.7% and average hourly earnings rate of increase slowed to 3.0%.
These are the main moves in markets:
Currencies
- The yen rose 0.2% to 106.10 per dollar as of 5:48 a.m. in Tokyo.
- The offshore yuan slipped 0.2% to 7.1740 per dollar.
- The euro added 0.1% to $1.0990.
- The British pound was steady at $1.2157.
Stocks
- The S&P 500 Index added 0.1% on Friday.
- Futures on Japan’s Nikkei 225 were flat.
- Hang Seng futures dropped 0.3%.
- Futures on Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index slid 0.1%.
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries gained less than one basis point to 1.50% on Friday.
Commodities
- West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.8% to $55.10 a barrel on Friday.
- Gold fell 0.5% to $1,520.38 an ounce.
To contact the reporter on this story: Adam Haigh in Sydney at ahaigh1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Christopher Anstey at canstey@bloomberg.net, Linus Chua, Matthew G. Miller
©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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