Asian stock market: Bears return to the table as US stimulus hopes fade

• Asian shares turn red as American policymakers refrain from discussing aid package.
• China highlights phase-one trade deal with US as important issue unlike Trump.
• RBNZ boosts LSAP New Zealand dollar 100 billion, stays ready to adopt non-conventional measures.
• UK GDP, US CPI will be the key for today.

Having marked notable gains the previous day, Asian equities drop while heading into the European session on Friday. While portraying the same, the MSCI index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan declines 0.75% whereas Japan’s Nikkei gains 0.23% to 22,803 by the press time. The move in the shares could be traced to Wall Street’s downbeat performance following US Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell’s comments suggesting no progress on the much-awaited relief package.

Also favoring the bears could be the US-China tussle wherein diplomats from Beijing surprisingly trying to keep the trade deal on the table even if US President Donald Trump recently said that it means “very little” to him. The Republican leader also rekindled vaccine hopes while highlighting the deal with Moderna. As a result, stocks in China drop heavily whereas Australia’s ASX 200 also marks 0.45% loss.

Further, New Zealand’s NZX 50 plummets over 1.3% following the RBNZ’s dovish halt but Indonesia’s IDX Composite bucks the trend with 0.40% gains. Moving on, South Korea’s KOSPI and India’s BSE Sensex also join the bears’ league amid broad pessimism.

It’s worth mentioning that the US 10-year Treasury yields and S&P 500 Futures struggle for clear directions after the previous day’s contradictory performances.

Looking forward, traders will keep eyes on the UK’s preliminary reading of the second quarter (Q2) GDP ahead of the US Consumer Price Index data for fresh impulse. While both the figures are less likely to favor respective currencies, also the market sentiment, any surprises can’t be ruled out.