(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks fell, with Japanese shares leading losses as haven assets extended gains. Oil held declines, while the dollar weakened on speculation the Federal Reserve will be slow to raise interest rates amid uneven global growth.
Double the number of stocks fell as rose on the regional benchmark as Japan's Topix index snapped a two-day climb amid a rebound in the yen. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell for a second session as emerging-market currencies jumped. Gold extended its rally from its lowest price this month, while 10-year Australian and Japanese government bond yields dropped for a second day. U.S. crude lingered below $43 a barrel after industry data showed American oil stockpiles -- already at seasonal highs -- increased last week.
“It's going to be quite tough for Japan with the yen strengthening,” Nicholas Teo, a strategist at KGI Fraser Securities in Singapore, said by phone. “Japan has tried a lot of things to stimulate growth.”
Asian stocks climbed the past four days, rallying to their highest point since August 2015 amid optimism central banks from London to Tokyo will keep acting to stimulate growth. While better-than-expected U.S. jobs data temporarily buoyed the dollar on Friday, odds on the Federal Reserve raising interest rates in 2016 are stuck below 50 percent amid evidence of uneven growth elsewhere. India's central bank said Tuesday its policy stance remains accommodative, while all of the economists surveyed by Bloomberg predict the Reserve Bank of New Zealand will cut interest rates to a fresh record low later this week.
The Philippines updates on exports Wednesday, while in Australia, data on home loans is due and central bank chief Glenn Stevens is scheduled to speak in Sydney.
Stocks
Mining and health-care stocks led losses on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index, with the Topix retreating 0.5 percent as of 10:01 a.m. Tokyo time. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index lost 0.4 percent, while New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 Index fell 0.2 percent, after rising the past four days. The Kospi index in Seoul swung between gains and losses.
Futures on the S&P 500 Index slipped 0.1 percent, to 2,175.25, following a day of range trading for the underlying index. The U.S. benchmark rose less than 0.1 percent Tuesday, to 2,181.74, below the record high of 2,182.87 set on Aug. 5. Futures on Hong Kong's Hang Seng and Hang Seng China Enterprises indexes were up at least 0.5 percent in recent trade, while FTSE China A50 Index contracts rose 0.2 percent.
Germany's DAX gauge entered a bull market on Tuesday, with the Stoxx Europe 600 Index rising 0.9 percent in a fifth consecutive day of increases.
For more on the German equity gains, click here.
“Despite good leads from European markets, falling commodity prices and weaker U.S. productivity are expected to dampen investor enthusiasm today,” Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist in Sydney at CMC Markets, said in an e-mail to clients.
Currencies
Bloomberg's dollar gauge, which tracks the greenback against 10 major peers, fell 0.3 percent, building on Tuesday's decline of a similar magnitude.
The yen added 0.4 percent to 101.46 per dollar, bringing its two-day climb to 1 percent, while the Korean won led gains in Asia, strengthening for a fifth day to touch its highest level since June 23. Currencies from the U.K. to New Zealand, Malaysia to Thailand rallied at least 0.2 percent versus the greenback.
“The U.S. dollar is unlikely to rally significantly against the commodity-sensitive currencies,” said Elias Haddad, a senior currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney. “Monetary policy settings around the world are going to be loose or looser going forward, and fiscal policy is expected to be more accommodative. That will support the global economic recovery and underpin commodity prices.”
Bonds
Yields on 10-year Australian sovereign bonds slipped four basis points, or 0.04 percentage point, to 1.90 percent, while rates on similar maturity New Zealand notes fell five basis points to 2.17 percent ahead of Thursday's monetary policy review. Japanese 10-year yields dropped one basis point to negative 0.09 percent after shedding four basis points on Tuesday.
Treasuries due in a decade yielded 1.54 percent, down another basis point following a four basis-point slide last session.
Commodities
Gold for immediate delivery edged up 0.4 percent to $1,345.73 an ounce, after rallying 0.4 percent last session. The precious metal is being supported by stagnant bets on a Fed rate hike this year, with the probability of a hike by December at 45 percent, down from 50 percent two months ago.
Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 0.1 percent to $42.71 a barrel, extending Tuesday's 0.6 percent retreat.
U.S. crude supplies rose 2.09 million barrels last week, the American Petroleum Institute was said to have reported late on Tuesday. The Energy Information Administration is expected to post a 1.5 million-barrel drop in supplies, after raising its U.S. crude production forecast through 2017 in a monthly short-term energy outlook released Tuesday.
--With assistance from Lilian Karunungan To contact the reporters on this story: Emma O'Brien in Wellington at eobrien6@bloomberg.net, Jonathan Burgos in Singapore at jburgos4@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Emma O'Brien at eobrien6@bloomberg.net, Andreea Papuc
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