In contrast, Japanese stocks have been going gangbusters as an influx of offshore buying lifted the Nikkei almost 20 percent last quarter, spurred by a weak yen and hopes of Japanese firms filling any gaps created by Sino-U.S. decoupling. Early Monday, the index was up another 1.2 percent and close to recent peaks.
The high-flying tech sector could get another boost from news Tesla delivered a record 466,000 vehicles in the second quarter, topping market estimates of around 445,000.That followed Apple’s crossing above $3 trillion in valuation for the first time on Friday and sealing the Nasdaq’s best quarter in 40 years.
Important U.S. data this week includes closely watched surveys on manufacturing and services, job openings and the June payrolls report. Median forecasts are for a steady unemployment rate, while jobs are seen up 225,000 after May’s surprisingly strong 339,000. The prospect of at least one more U.S. rate rise continues to underpin the dollar against the yen, given the Bank of Japan shows little sign of abandoning its super-easy policies.