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* US yields rebound after $ 2 trillion stimulus package announced
* Nikkei + 1.4% to a new 30-year high
* Asian scholarships: https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
By Tom Westbrook and Chibuike Oguh
SINGAPORE / NEW YORK, Jan.14 (Reuters) – Bonds slipped, Japanese stocks hit a three-decade high and other Asian stocks strolled near record highs on Thursday as investors focused on the outlook for recovery and prolonged their bets on global recovery and growth.
Japan’s Nikkei rose 1.4% to its highest level since August 1990. It rose more than 8% in three weeks. The largest MSCI index for Asia-Pacific stocks outside of Japan was stable and just a hair’s breadth away from Monday’s all-time high.
U.S. Treasuries, which had climbed overnight after assurances that the U.S. Federal Reserve would continue to buy bonds, were sold again after CNN announced that President-elect Joe Biden was considering a stimulus package of $ 2 trillion.
The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury bills, which increases when prices fall, rose 1.7 basis points in Asia.
Ten-year Treasury yields are up more than 19 basis points this year as investors bet on Biden’s borrowing and spending program capable of pulling out a Democrat-controlled Congress – and as the concern is growing as to when Fed support may wane.
S&P 500 futures rose 0.2% and EuroSTOXX 50 futures rose 0.3%.
“The first question for global markets and equities will be when will the Fed start to decline,” said Frank Benzimra, head of Asia equity strategy at Societe Generale in Hong Kong.
“This is where we can worry … but at the moment, it’s something that is a bit premature. We are in a context where growth is accelerating, economic indicators are good and in the United States the likelihood of stimulus increased. “
Currency markets are taking a bit more of a wait-and-see approach as investors run out of dollars and wonder if the eventual decline could limit the greenback’s decline.
The dollar rose 0.2% to 104.12 yen with US yields after the CNN report, which cited a lawmaker in contact with Biden’s advisers as the source. Biden is due to announce his economic plans on Thursday.
Traders are also eager to hear from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell on Thursday where any hint of a possible cut could push yields up again.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars stabilized after slipping a bit overnight, with the Aussie at $ 0.7733 and the Kiwi at $ 0.7174. The euro suffered large but modest losses to $ 1.2141 and 126.3 yen.
EXPORTS ARROW
Stellar economic statistics, meanwhile, continued to pour into North Asia. Chinese exports rose more than expected in December – indicating strong global demand – while orders for machinery rose for a second consecutive month in Japan.
Chinese blue chips eased after hitting a 13-year high on Wednesday as investors took profits.
Hong Kong-listed shares of tech giants Alibaba and Tencent rose after sources told Reuters and the Wall Street Journal that plans to extend a U.S. investment ban to stocks were scrapped.
In Washington, the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives impeached President Donald Trump for the second time. But the markets have focused more on his attacks on Chinese companies.
Trump tightened the ban on U.S. investments in Chinese companies deemed military-related, saying Wednesday evening that U.S. investors cannot own them after November 2021.
In commodities markets, oil futures suffered modest losses as further surges in coronavirus cases fuel concerns over more lockdowns and lower demand for energy. Brent futures slipped 0.1% to $ 55.91 per barrel and US crude futures fell by the same margin to $ 52.81 per barrel.
Gold, which pays no interest, suffered from higher US yields and traded 0.2% to $ 1,838 an ounce, well below the two-month high of $ 1,959 reached there. a week ago.
(Reporting by Tom Westbrook in Singapore and Chibuike Oguh in New York. Additional reporting by Junko Fujita in Tokyo; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Gerry Doyle)
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