Stocks rise, dollar falls amid Bessent’s choice bond yields

Tom Westbrook

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Asian shares rose amid U.S. stock futures on Monday, while the dollar fell against rivals as bond yields fell following the selection of fund manager Scott Bessent as the next U.S. Treasury secretary, with investors expecting him to will be the voice of markets in Washington.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares was up 1.6% as of 0143 GMT, while U.S. S&P 500 futures were up 0.5%, narrowly missing a record high, after the money index rose 0. 3% at the end of last week. Bessent’s appointment came late Friday after Wall Street closed.

The dollar fell 0.7% against the yen and 0.6% against the euro as traders bought Treasuries, sending benchmark U.S. long-term yields down about 7 basis points to 4.341% on Monday.

“The market view is that Bessent is a ‘safe hand’ candidate,” said Stephen Spratt, strategist at Societe Generale, which was a relief as the risk of a more unorthodox pick was taken out of the markets.

Japan’s Nikkei jumped 1.6% and South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.5%. The Australian share market rose 0.7% to a record high.

But Chinese markets have been tough, weighed down by the threat of huge tariffs under the new Donald Trump administration and disappointing stimulus announcements away from Beijing.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shares added 0.2%, while mainland blue chips fell 0.2%.

Trading this week is likely to be eased by the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday in the United States.

President-elect Trump’s nomination of a Treasury secretary is being closely watched in bond markets as expectations of tax cuts, as well as tariffs and an immigration crackdown, fuel fears of inflation and large deficits.

Bessent told CNBC earlier in November, before he was elected Treasury secretary, that he would recommend “a gradual increase in tariffs.”

In an interview with Bloomberg, he advocated for the United States to get out of heavy debt, and in the Wall Street Journal for tax reform and deregulation, in particular to stimulate bank lending and energy production.

He spent his career working for billionaire investor George Soros and notorious short seller Jim Chanos, as well as running his own hedge fund.

The yen was last at 153.76 to the dollar. The currency pair tends to closely monitor movements in Treasury yields.

The euro changed hands at $1.0477, bouncing off Friday’s two-year low of $1.03315.

Sterling rose 0.5% to $1.2592. On Friday it fell to its lowest level since early May at $1.2475.

The Australian dollar jumped 0.6% to $0.6538 and the kiwi, which fell to a one-year low on Friday as bets on the central bank’s dovish stance increased, jumped 0.5% to $0.5865. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand will meet on Wednesday with a proposal to cut rates by 50bp, with markets suggesting a significant 75bp cut is likely. is approximately 1/3.

Bitcoin rose slightly from Sunday to $97,511. It hit a record high of $99,830 on Friday amid expectations of a friendlier regulatory environment for cryptocurrencies under Trump.

The token has risen about 45% since Trump’s decisive election victory on November 5, when voters also elected a slew of pro-crypto lawmakers to Congress.

Crude oil hovered near a two-week high as geopolitical tensions between Western powers and top oil producers Russia and Iran intensified, raising risks of supply disruptions.

Brent crude futures rose 0.2% to $75.30 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures traded at $71.38 a barrel, up 0.2%. Both benchmark indices rose about 6% last week.

(Editing by Kim Coghill and Stephen Coates)