From Bloomberg via Yahoo Finance (Canada), July 4/5:
Asian shares declined Wednesday as growth in China’s services industry slowed, underscoring concerns over the tepid recovery in the world’s second-largest economy.
A region-wide gauge of equities dropped 0.5%, as stocks also fell in Japan, South Korea and Australia. Futures for benchmarks in the US and Europe edged lower.
Initial losses in Chinese equities deepened and the offshore yuan reversed an advance after the Caixin China services purchasing managers’ index was weaker than expected. The yuan’s drop came despite the central bank earlier maintaining its support for the currency in its daily fix.
“This brings focus back on slowing growth momentum and the recent step-up in geopolitical angst,” said Charu Chanana, market strategist at Saxo Capital Markets.
In Japan, Rakuten Group Inc. shares fell after news that the e-commerce company took a step to list its online brokerage arm. The stock dropped as much as 2.9% amid market concerns over its debt levels, before inching back into positive territory.
The yield on the two-year Treasury fell around four basis points to 4.9% as trading resumed on Wednesday following the Independence Day holiday in the US. The 10-year yield hovered around 3.84%....
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