By Xie Yu
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Stocks fell broadly and the U.S. dollar also weakened early on Tuesday, reflecting investors’ uncertainty in a busy week for corporate earnings and economic data.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 1.2% by 0510 GMT.
Markets in Australia and New Zealand are shut for a holiday.
U.S. stock futures, the S&P 500 e-minis lost 0.3%.
In early European trades, the pan-region Euro Stoxx 50 futures were down 0.3%. German DAX futures and FTSE futures fell 0.2% and 0.3% respectively.
Japan bucked the overall stock weakness, as its benchmark Nikkei average gained 0.4%, touching 8-month high as strong chip investment lifted tech shares.
On Monday, the Nasdaq closed lower, underperforming the S&P 500 and the Dow, with pressure from high-profile megacaps as investors awaited results from companies including Microsoft, while Tesla shares fell on concerns about its spending plans.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty. People still don’t know how much bank lending has been impacted by recent developments … (or) when inflation will durably peak,” said Prashant Bhayani, chief investment officer Asia, BNP Paribas Wealth Management.
Bhayani also pointed to anxiety about other weak spots that might be exposed by the recent turmoil in U.S. and Swiss banks.
Troubled U.S. bank First Republic Bank shares sank more than 20% after the closing bell on Monday as it said deposits plunged by more than $100 billion in the first quarter and it was exploring options such as restructuring its balance sheet.
Meanwhile, Swiss banking giant UBS Group reported a 52% slide in quarterly profit, as it prepares to integrate fallen rival Credit Suisse. The drop in profit was largely due to UBS setting aside a further $665 million to cover the costs of toxic mortgages that played a central role in the global financial crisis some 15 years ago.
Market participants are waiting for corporate earnings and a mix of economic data from the U.S., Europe and China for cues on the growth momentum and when a recession in the U.S. economy might start, he added.
Over in China, Hong Kong’s benchmark fell 1.9%, while mainland stocks lost 0.9%.
Despite a recent string of strong macro data including China’s 4.5% GDP growth for the first quarter and retail sales that beat expectations, the economic recovery there is still uneven and has yet to trickle down to corporate earnings, said Carlos Casanova, senior economist for Asia at UBP.
“With the reopening stories clearly behind us, we don’t yet have clear visibility as to where we are going to see priorities in policymaking,” he said.
In the U.S. treasury market, yields fell as participants looked for less risky places to park cash amid concerns over the approaching U.S. debt ceiling deadline, with the House of Representatives expected to vote on a Republican-led debt and spending bill this week.
Benchmark 10-year notes edged down to 3.4749% by 0511 GMT, after strengthening on Monday to 3.5034%.
One-month Treasury yields rose from their lowest levels since October on Monday on concerns about a potential standoff over the debt ceiling.
, with the House of Representatives expected to vote on a Republican-led debt and spending bill this week.
The dollar index was almost flat by 0510 GMT, paring some earlier losses. Gold gave up some gains. Spot gold was traded at $1991.39 per ounce.
Oil prices were steady. Brent crude edged up 4 cents $82.70 a barrel by 0506 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude edged up to $78.73 a barrel.
(Editing by Himani Sarkar and Simon Cameron-Moore)
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