Bonds bounce, dollar dips on Bessent pick

By Tom Westbrook and Kevin Buckland

SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Bond markets cheered the selection of fund manager Scott Bessent as U.S. Treasury secretary on Monday on expectations he could keep a leash on U.S. debt, while falling yields tugged down the dollar and the mood lifted U.S. stock futures close to record highs.

S&P 500 futures were last 0.5% higher while Dow and Nasdaq futures were up 0.6%. Even beaten-down European futures rose 0.7% and the friendless euro, which hit a two-year low on Friday, bounced 0.5%.

Italian lender UniCredit announced a $10.6 billion all-scrip bid for rival Banco BPM - putting those stocks on the radar at the open in Milan.

Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields were down more than 5 basis points to 4.355% and the dollar was also lower on the yen, sterling and Antipodean currencies. [US/][FRX/]

"The market view (is) that Bessent is a 'safe hands' candidate," said Stephen Spratt, strategist at Societe Generale (OTC:SCGLY ), a relief as the risk of a more unorthodox pick was priced out of markets and as Bessent has mentioned restraining U.S. borrowing.

In Asia's equity markets Japan's Nikkei jumped 1.7% while rises in Sydney and Seoul offset selling in Hong Kong and China to lift MSCI's broadest index of Asia shares outside Japan about 0.7%.

President-elect Trump's appointment of a Treasury secretary has been closely watched in bond markets as expectations of tax cuts as well as tariffs and an immigration crackdown have stoked fears of inflation and big deficits.

Bessent told the Wall Street Journal in an interview published on Sunday that both tax and spending cuts were priorities.

Bessent told CNBC earlier in November, before his selection as Treasury secretary, that he would recommend "tariffs be layered in gradually", though his appointment gave only the merest and short-lived boost to China's yuan .

The currency last traded flat at 7.2445 to the dollar while the stockmarket was heavy with selling across e-commerce stocks in Hong Kong. The Hang Seng fell 0.4% and Shanghai Composite 0.6%.

EURO PRESSURE

The week ahead is likely to be lightened by Thursday's Thanksgiving holiday in the United States, where many traders will probably make a long weekend of it.

October PCE and jobless figures will be published on Wednesday along with the latest GDP estimate and Federal Reserve minutes are due on Tuesday.

Market pricing for a Fed cut next month, which has dialled back in recent weeks, was steady in Asia with about even chances of a hold or a 25 basis point cut. Expectations of a deep cut in New Zealand are gathering steam with a 50 basis point cut for Wednesday fully priced and about 1/3 chance of a 75 bp cut.

New Zealand's stock market has notched its best two-day rally since June, gaining 3.2% on Thursday's close. The currency touched a one-year low of $0.5917 on Friday and traded a little firmer at $0.5850 on Monday. [NZD/]

At $1.0457 the euro had recovered from last week's lows though there was hardly a sigh of relief.

The single currency had taken a hit on Friday as European manufacturing surveys showed broad weakness and the central bank's chief economist did little to dispel expectations for extra rate cuts in an interview with France's Les Echos.

"Monetary policy should not remain restrictive for too long," said the European Central Bank's Philip Lane.



Bitcoin ticked up slightly from Sunday to $98,334. On Friday, it reached a record peak of $99,830 amid expectations of a more friendly regulatory environment for cryptocurrencies under Trump.

The token is up about 45% since Trump's sweeping election victory on Nov. 5, when voters also elected a slew of pro-crypto lawmakers to Congress.

Source: Investing.com