Stocks dropped in Asian opening trades today on renewed worries about a gloomy economic outlook as monetary policy tightens in much of the world to fight high inflation. An Asian equity index snapped a four-day climb amid drops in Japan and Hong Kong. US futures steadied after a tech-led tumble in the S&P 500 yesterday. Institutional portfolio rebalancing may be impacting trading. China’s bourses flirted with gains, bucking the prevailing trend. In a surprise move, the nation reduced quarantine times for inbound travelers. That hinted at an eventual shift away from a strategy of stamping out Covid that involves great economic cost via lockdowns and travel curbs. The dollar held gains after rising the most in over a week in the Wall Street session. Treasuries inched up, leaving the 10-year yield at 3.16%. Oil oscillated near $111 a barrel on supply risks. In currencies today, the Japanese yen rose 0.1% to 136.03 per dollar. The euro was at $1.0527, up 0.1% while the pound too was 0.21% higher at $1.2206. The offshore yuan was at 6.7030 per dollar.
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