Morning Bid: Yen clings to gains but bond pressure builds
A woman in front of an electronic screen displaying graphs showing the current and recent Japanese Yen exchange rate against the U.S. dollar after Japan and the United States conducted coordinated yen-buying intervention, in Tokyo, Japan, August 3, 2026. REUTERS/Issei Kato
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A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Gregor Stuart Hunter
If U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was hoping for a reprieve from his to-do list, this might be as good as it gets.
The Japanese currency weakened for the first time in five sessions on Tuesday, as the dust settled from rare coordinated intervention in foreign exchange markets by officials in Tokyo and Washington.
The yen was 0.3 per cent softer against the U.S. dollar at 157.715 yen, and weaker by a similar amount versus the euro at 181.45 yen. It remains about 4 per cent stronger against both compared with levels a week ago that prompted official support, marking the first U.S. foray into Japan’s foreign exchange market in 15 years.
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But an auction of 10-year Japanese government bonds on Tuesday also drew weaker demand than the previous sale of sovereign debt, prompting a fresh bout of jitters and a jump higher in yields.
Elsewhere, with few other catalysts, stocks drifted through the Asian trading session. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.5 per cent, while the Nikkei 225 slumped 0.3 per cent.
S&P 500 e-mini futures were 0.2 per cent higher, inching closer towards reclaiming record highs, as investors focused on better-than-expected corporate earnings. With almost two-thirds of S&P 500 companies reporting, 84 per cent have beaten earnings estimates, according to LSEG data.
Oil prices recovered a little after plunging on Monday, with Brent crude up 1.4 per cent at $84.93 a barrel in the Asian session as traders looked through U.S. President Donald Trump’s promises to refrain from attacking Iran to help peace talks that Tehran says are not taking place.
In any event, not much shipping traffic is passing through the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb waterways.
In early European trades, pan-region futures were up 0.3 per cent and German DAX futures were 0.2 per cent higher, with both indexes on track to reach record highs, while FTSE futures nudged up 0.3 per cent.
Meanwhile, after security breaches by AI agents gone rogue, developers Meta, Anthropic, OpenAI and Google have been invited to meet White House officials on Tuesday to discuss voluntary government safety testing for their most advanced models, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Key developments that could influence markets on Tuesday:
Company earnings:
SpaceX, AMD, Caterpillar, McDonald’s, Pfizer, BP, Lufthansa
Economic events:
France: Budget balance for June
Debt auctions:
Germany: 2-year government debt
UK: 6-year government debt
Source: Reuters
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