By Pete Schroeder
WASHINGTON, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Asian markets pointed to a mixed open on Wednesday, as investors juggle the prospects for an economic comeback and additional stimulus with continued pandemic concerns.
Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO was up 0.06% in early trading, while {{178|Japan's NiNikkei 225 futures NKc1 were up 0.12%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index futures .HSI .HSIc1 were down 0.37%.
The tentative open comes after a mixed finish on Wall Street. The expectation that U.S. policymakers will stick with significant fiscal and monetary stimulus helped drive stocks higher and spur a sell-off in bonds. Concerns over rising interest rates weighed on some sectors.
"U.S. markets started the week in an optimist mode after being closed for Presidents Day on Monday," wrote ANZ analysts in a research note. "As inflation expectations rise, investors are looking to reduce their exposure to fixed income in favour of investments which will rise with any wave of inflation."
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI scored another record closing high on Tuesday, climbing 0.2%. The S&P 500 .SPX fell 0.06%, and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC fell 0.34%.
The MSCI's global stock index .MIWD00000PUS was down 0.1%.
The surge came as the United States continued to ramp up vaccine distribution and President Joe Biden pitched his $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill.
The continued rise of bitcoin added to the bullish appetite, after the cryptocurrency briefly cleared $50,000 for the first time. U.S. dollar bounced back from three-week lows, boosted by rising Treasury yields. Against a basket of global rivals =USD , the dollar gained 0.21%. Tuesday, the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose above 1.3% for the first time since the pandemic took hold. The steepening yield curve reflected expectations of ongoing fiscal and monetary stimulus. deep freeze across the U.S. South that shut down wells and refineries helped push oil prices to near 13-month highs on Tuesday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures settled up 1%, and Brent LCOc1 settled up 0.1%. will be eyeing fresh U.S. retail sales data on Wednesday for any signs of recovery, as well as newly published minutes from the Federal Reserve's January policy meeting.
Earnings reports this week from Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc HLT.N , Hyatt Hotels Corp H.N and Marriott International Inc MAR.O will also be scrutinized for signs of a pickup in global travel demand.
Spot gold XAU= fell 1.2% on Tuesday, with U.S. gold futures .GCv1 settling down 1.3% as investors veered away from the safe haven. Global assets
http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl Global currencies vs. dollar
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http://tmsnrt.rs/2ihRugV MSCI All Country World Index Market Cap
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