SINGAPORE, Juy 27 — Asian index futures signaled losses with global stocks coming off their worst week of the year amid a selloff in commodities and the rallying dollar. Crude oil and gold extended declines.

Futures on equity gauges from Japan to Hong Kong dropped in most recent trading, with contracts on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index little changed by 7:52am in Tokyo following a slump in US stocks. US oil fell 0.2 per cent, with Brent crude hovering below US$55 (RM 210) a barrel.

Gold slipped 0.2 per cent after its longest run of weekly losses since 2012. Australia’s dollar lingered near a six-year low.

China reports on industrial company profits today, providing further clues on the slowdown in Asia’s largest economy, which has fueled the collapse in commodity prices. Gold is trading near a five-year low and oil is in a bear market amid concern raw-material supplies are outpacing demand.

In the US, data on durable and capital goods orders are due, with investors looking ahead to this week’s meeting of the Federal Reserve to gauge the timing for higher interest rates.

“The question is if and when commodity prices will find a base,” Mark Smith, senior economist in Auckland at ANZ Bank New Zealand Ltd. wrote in a client note.

“We expect Fed voters to pull the trigger in September, but for the path to interest rate normalization to be a long one given the global risk profile.”

Disappointing reads on Chinese and European manufacturing Friday sparked renewed selling of commodity-linked currencies, with the Aussie returning to its weakest level since May 2009 and the Brazilian real tumbling 2.1 per cent to its lowest price since 2003.

Oil, gold

West Texas Intermediate crude lost 0.2 per cent to US$48.05 a barrel in early trading today, while Brent was little changed at US$54.64. WTI retreated 5.4 per cent last week for a fourth straight period of losses. It is now down more than 20 per cent from its highest point this year, the common definition of a bear market. Gold for immediate delivery fell to US$1,095.78 an ounce following last week’s 3.1 per cent tumble. Platinum also dropped today, down 0.3 per cent to US$984.85 an ounce.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, a gauge of the greenback versus 10 major peers, added 0.1 per cent last week, its fifth straight weekly advance and longest rally this year.

The yen, which typically moves at odds with Japanese shares, was little changed at 123.83 per dollar after a weekly gain of 0.2 per cent. Nikkei 225 Stock Average futures were down 0.7 per cent to 20,370 by 3am Saturday in Osaka, while contracts traded in Chicago were little changed at 20,380 following a 1 per cent slump last session.

Chinese declines

Futures on Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 0.7 per cent in most recent trading, with contracts on the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, a gauge of mainland stocks listed in the city, down 1.1 per cent after losses in the gauge on Friday. Futures on the FTSE China A50 Index, which tracks the largest Chinese companies, lost 0.8 per cent and CSI 300 Index contracts declined 3 per cent in Friday trade.

New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index, the first major equity index to start trading each day in the Asian region, slipped 0.3 per cent, with futures on Korea’s Kospi index down 0.5 per cent.

Contracts on Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index — which slid 1.8 per cent last week amid losses of more than 3 per cent in mining and energy industry groups — declined 0.9 per cent.

Commodity stocks also drove the MSCI All-Country World Index’s 2.1 per cent drop last week, the worst since mid-December. MSCI’s Asia Pacific Index fell 1.5 per cent in the week, the weekly drop this month.

US trading

Crops, industrial metals and crude led the Bloomberg Commodity Index 1.2 per cent lower on Friday, extending its more- than 13-year low. The S&P 500 sank 1.1 per cent, capping a weekly drop of 2.2 per cent, the most since March.

In the US Friday, purchases of new homes unexpectedly retreated in June and prior readings were revised down, painting a picture of less robust improvement during the industry’s busiest time of year.

Amid the disappointing economic data, investors sifted through corporate profit reports.

The earnings season has so far been spotty for US companies, with sluggish demand overseas damping returns for multinational companies at the same time the dollar has strengthened to near the highest level since April.

‘Big collapse’

From Apple Inc. to Caterpillar Inc. and Microsoft Corp., a parade of blue chips have disappointed investors in the past two weeks. The impact is having the biggest impact on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, giving it the worst week since January. Analysts are calling for a 4 per cent drop in second-quarter profit for S&P 500 companies, shallower than July 10 estimates for a 6.4 per cent decline.

“Certainly the ongoing collapse in commodity prices emanating from weak data in China and weak earnings reports from companies because of China, such as Caterpillar, are weighing on the market,” said Jim Paulsen, Minneapolis-based chief investment strategist at Wells Capital Management Inc. His firm oversees US$351 billion.

“We’ve got a pretty big collapse going on here.”

Bonds benefited, with yields on 10-year New Zealand government notes down a sixth straight day, declining two basis points to 3.31 per cent.

Similar maturity Treasuries capped a second consecutive weekly advance, with rates down eight basis points, or 0.08 per centage point, to 2.26 per cent in the week. — Bloomberg