Asian Stocks: Risk-tone dwindles during pre-NFP trade bleak

• China’s efforts to placate traders witness dull response amid renewed fears that coronavirus will have a longer-lasting impact.
• Phase-two deal signals fail to restore confidence as traders follow the general “wait and watch” mode ahead of the key US employment data.
• China export numbers, coronavirus updates will also be important to follow.

Asian equities fail to follow their global benchmark as increasing death toll and likely higher negative impacts of China’s coronavirus weighed on the trading sentiment. Also exerting downside pressure on the shares is the investors’ generally observed cautious mode before the key US jobs report.

In doing so, Asian traders also ignored the Chinese officials’ efforts to placate traders while signals that US-China will follow phase-one deal norms were mostly ignored.

That said, the MSCI’s index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan mark 1.0% loss whereas Japan’s NIKKEI trim 0.20% to 23,825 ahead of the European session on Friday. Further, stocks in China and Hong Kong are nearly 1.0% down whereas those of South Korea are -1.2% to 2,200 by the press time.

Elsewhere, Australia’s ASX 200 followed the suit, with the additional burden from RBA, while flashing a 0.40% loss. Though, New Zealand’s NZX 50 recovered amid expectations of further liquidity and buying from the largest customers, namely Australia and China.

While portraying the risk reset, the US 10-year treasury yields also snap their two-day-old winning streak, currently 1.627%, whereas S&P 500 Futures fail to follow the Wall Street benchmarks that refreshed record highs.

Traders will now pay close attention to China’s trade numbers, coronavirus update and the US employment data for January to determine near-term market direction. However, overall risk-tone is likely to be on the downside considering an absence of trade positive news.