Trade tensions between the U.S. and China are starting to pull foreign-exchange markets into the arena. Yet far from embracing their currencies as a weapon, many countries are being forced to take a defensive posture against the almighty dollar. Central banks seem more intent on keeping their currencies steady and stopping money from escaping rather than engaging in devaluations to boost their competitiveness in trade. Policy makers in China, South Korea and Indonesia were among those taking steps to buoy their currencies as the prospect of more rapid depreciation raised ...

Bond investors are keeping their faith in Asia, a region they view as being relatively stable even as an escalation in the trade war threatens to dent global growth. Asian policy makers have more capacity to support the region’s economies, with inflation running below targets meaning that central banks can cut interest rates if needed, according to Aberdeen Standard Investments. Opportunities can be found in countries such as China and Papua New Guinea, where reforms to open up their markets to foreign investors are taking place, NN Investment Partners said. ...

The dollar fell on Friday from a two-year high against a basket of major currencies after orders for U.S.-made capital goods fell, further evidence that manufacturing and the broader economy are slowing, due in part to the U.S.-China trade dispute. The weaker-than-expected data, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, drove the dollar lower and added to a fall which began Thursday following a report that showed manufacturing activity hit its lowest level in almost a decade in May. Taken together, the reports suggested a sharp slowdown in U.S. ...

Sterling has been the focus for global investors rattled by Britain’s planned departure from the European Union, plunging immediately after the vote to leave and then moving wildly ever since on Brexit-related headlines. Investors have largely been positioned for the pound to weaken — adding to those bets as Britain first struggled to agree a withdrawal plan with Brussels, and then as lawmakers in London this year rejected the deal three times. Recent falls in the pound have been pronounced because investors had cut back on short positions, hoping Prime ...

NASDAQ-Adv: 2,045 Dec: 1,067 NYSE-Adv: 1,990 Dec: 951 (Source: Nasdaq)

As China’s yuan slips to historically weak levels against the dollar, the central bank’s atypical light touch is spurring speculation that policymakers want to be more judicious in their intervention and have no specific target for the currency. The yuan has lost more than 2.5% against the dollar since the festering China-U.S. trade dispute took a turn for the worse with tariff increases early this month. It is now less than 0.1 yuan away from the 7-per-dollar level authorities have in the past indicated as a floor. A weakening yuan ...

The British pound was seeing muted action against rivals Friday as U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May announced her resignation, after her deals to usher Britain out of the European Union failed and she lost the confidence of her political inner circle Sterling was trading at $1.2671 versus the dollar, compared with $1.2657 late Thursday in New York, a gain of about 0.1%. Meanwhile, the shared currency was wobbly, most recently, buying GBP0.8836, versus GBP0.8831, according to FactSet data. May’s planned resignation — she will stay on until a replacement is ...

World stocks edged higher on Friday and oil prices bounced after comments by President Donald Trump encouraged hopes of progress in U.S.-China trade talks while British Prime Minister Theresa May’s resignation briefly sent sterling fluctuating wildly. Persisting concerns over the health of the world economy linked to trade tensions have hit global markets this week, with the MSCI All Country index in line for a more than 1% fall in its third week in the red. That will mark its longest losing streak since a rout in December. The index ...

How concerned are financial markets about the renewed escalation of the trade war? A cursory glance at some of the key gauges of market performance suggests that US President Donald Trump’s impulsive decision on May 6 to threaten to raise tariffs on all Chinese imports to 25 per cent, followed by the White House’s two-pronged attack on China’s Huawei Technologies – curbing its access to America’s market and placing the firm on a banned entity list – has rattled investors. Since May 3, the MSCI Emerging Markets equity index has ...

Investors bet most Asian currencies will come under further pressure, a Reuters poll showed, with trade tensions between the United States and China firmly dominating headlines once again. With diminishing hopes of a long-awaited trade deal between the world’s top two economies, the mood across markets have been apprehensive with investors shifting money to safer bets. Investors, who were bullish on China’s yuan for much of this year until April end, have since raised their short positions to their highest in six months, the poll of 12 respondents showed. Trade ...

World stocks edged higher on Friday and oil prices recovered from bruising falls, after U.S. President Donald Trump nurtured muted hopes of progress in U.S.-China talks while concerns over trade and the health of the world economy persisted. Trade tensions have roiled global markets this week with the MSCI All Country index up 0.2% on the day but in line for a more than 1% fall in its third week in the red, their longest losing streak since a rout in December. In overnight comments, Trump also labelled Chinese telecommunications ...

The dollar edged away from two-year highs on Friday after weak U.S. manufacturing activity data sparked worries that the trade conflict with China may hurt the world’s largest economy and affect the currency’s safe-haven status. Against a basket of six major currencies, the dollar was down 0.2% at 97.686 in early European trade and 0.7% off a two-year high of 98.371 hit the previous session. The fall followed overnight data showing manufacturing activity hit its lowest level in almost a decade in May, suggesting a sharp slowdown in U.S. economic ...

NASDAQ-Adv: 664 Dec: 2,485 NYSE-Adv: 678 Dec: 2,281 (Source: Nasdaq)

China has ample policy tools to cope with yuan fluctuations and the country is able to keep the currency basically stable, a central bank vice governor said in remarks published on Thursday. The yuan fell against the dollar on Thursday to its lowest level in almost six months as investors worried about the impact of the Sino-U.S. dispute on the country’s tech sector. The currency has lost more than 2.6 percent this month. “At present, although there is some occasional overshooting in the exchange rate, the market situation is stable,” ...

Go inside the global economy with Stephanie Flanders in her new podcast, Stephanomics. Subscribe via Pocket Cast or iTunes. Central banks across Asia are moving to defend their currencies from recent declines as escalating trade tensions between the U.S. and China weigh down exports and economic growth. Officials in Beijing, Seoul and Jakarta were among those taking steps on Wednesday to arrest weakness that’s affected most key currencies in Asia this month. The yen, a traditional haven, is the main exception to the trend. “Chinese authorities are trying to cap ...