Asian Stocks Trade Mixed as New Year Rally Stalls: Markets Wrap - Yahoo Finance

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(Bloomberg) -- Stocks in Asia were mixed Tuesday after a rally in global equities stalled as investors prepared to scour a busy week of bank earnings reports for signs of health for the global economy.

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Shares in Australia and Hong Kong stock futures fell while contracts for Japanese equities rose. US stock markets were closed Monday while contracts for the S&P 500 fell and European stocks rose. A gauge of global equities traded flat in a sign the rally that’s pushed it to the best start to a year since 1988 has paused.

The dollar snapped a three-day losing streak while the yen steadied after rallying over the past week ahead of a Bank of Japan meeting that has traders on guard for further sudden tweaks to easy policy settings.

“It’s been quite a frantic start to the year so investors may be capitalizing on the opportunity to catch their breath,” Craig Erlam, a senior market analyst at Oanda Europe Ltd., wrote in a note. “The question now is whether earnings season will enhance that new sense of hope or spoil the party before it really gets going. A bad earnings season could undermine hopes of a soft landing that looks more possible now than it has for many months.”

Earnings reports from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley due later today will provide clues about the health of the global economy and the strength of corporate profits. Financial companies dominate the docket of businesses reporting fourth-quarter results this week and include Charles Schwab Corp, PNC Financial Services Group and State Street Corp.

Several Federal Reserve officials will be speaking this week, providing more clues on their policy priorities. The World Economic Forum’s annual meeting kicks off in Davos, Switzerland, with speakers there including European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and the International Monetary Fund’s Kristalina Georgieva.

Bitcoin extended one of its best-ever rallies to rise above $21,000 for the first time since November in a sign of healthy risk appetite.

Elsewhere in markets, iron ore inched lower after tumbling Monday after China pledged to tighten supervision on pricing after the metal’s surge in recent months. Oil and gold also fell.

Key events this week:

Earnings this week are scheduled to include: Charles Schwab, Discover Financial, Goldman Sachs, HDFC Bank, Interactive Brokers, Investor AB, Morgan Stanley, Netflix, Procter & Gamble, Prologis, State Street
World Economic Forum kicks off in Davos, Monday
US markets closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Monday
China retail sales, industrial production, GDP, Tuesday
US Empire State manufacturing survey, Tuesday
Fed’s John Williams to speak, Tuesday
Eurozone CPI, Wednesday
US retail sales, PPI, industrial production, business inventories, MBA mortgage applications, cross-border investment, Wednesday
Bank of Japan rate decision, Wednesday
Federal Reserve releases Beige Book, Wednesday
Fed speakers include Raphael Bostic, Lorie Logan and Patrick Harker, Wednesday
US housing starts, initial jobless claims, Philadelphia Fed index, Thursday
ECB account of its December policy meeting and President Christine Lagarde on a panel in Davos, Thursday
Fed speakers include Susan Collins and John Williams, Thursday
Japan CPI, Friday
China loan prime rates, Friday
US existing home sales, Friday
IMF’s Kristalina Georgieva and ECB’s Lagarde speak in Davos, Friday