TOKYO, May 21 — Asian stocks fluctuated at the open today even as US equity futures jumped in the wake of news that the Sino-American trade war is on hold for now. Treasury yields nudged higher, taking the up US dollar with them.

Equity benchmarks in Japan, South Korea and Australia were struggling to find their feet in muted trading, while S&P 500 Index contracts gained 0.6 per cent. Oil futures climbed. US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the US was "putting the trade war on hold,” amid progress in talks with China. Stocks had closed lower Friday and Treasury yields dropped under 3.1 per cent amid mixed signals on trade.

"The trade talks over the weekend suggest that real trade-war outcomes are very unlikely,” Robert Mead, co-head of Asia-Pacific at Pacific Investment Management Co, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. "This seems to suggest that global trade stays healthy — we don’t have to worry too much about that.”

Investors this week will be keeping a close eye on the minutes of May’s Federal Reserve meeting, to be released Wednesday, along with preliminary purchasing manager indexes in the euro zone. Geopolitics remains in focus as South Korea’s president visits Washington to discuss North Korea and Brexit negotiations resume in Brussels.

Elsewhere, the euro steadied near a five-month low as Italy’s two populist leaders agreed on a prime minister and are set to propose a cabinet as early as toay. Gold edged lower.

These are some key events to watch this week

Today, Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic and Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari all speak at various events.

Brexit negotiations resume in Brussels tomorrow, and South Korea’s president visits Washington to discuss North Korea. Also tomorrow, Facebook founder/CEO Mark Zuckerberg is to be grilled by the European Parliament on his company’s use of personal data.

Federal Reserve releases minutes of policy makers’ May 1-2 meeting on Wednesday; US new home sale also released as are euro-area and Japan PMIs.

Thursday sees the Bank of England Markets Forum at Bloomberg London. Speakers include BOE Governor Mark Carney and New York Fed President William Dudley.

At the St Petersburg Forum Friday, Presidents Putin and Emmanuel Macron, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, and Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe participate on a panel moderated by Bloomberg News editor-in-chief John Micklethwait. Also Friday, European Union finance ministers discuss the latest on Brexit talks, in Brussels.

These are the main moves in markets — stocks

Japan’s Topix index was little changed as of 9.23am in Tokyo. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.2 per cent. Kospi index was down 0.3 per cent. S&P 500 futures were up 0.6 per cent. S&P 500 closed down 0.3 per cent on Friday.

Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was steady after rising 0.3 per cent Friday. The Japanese yen fell 0.2 per cent to 111.03 per US dollar. The euro fell 0.1 per cent to US$1.1756.

Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose two basis points to 3.0762 per cent after sinking six basis points on Friday.. Australia’s 10-year bond yield fell three basis points to 2.87 per cent.

Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.5 per cent to US$71.62 (RM284.34) a barrel today. Gold lost 0.2 per cent to US$1,290.80 an ounce. Copper futures fell 0.1 per cent to US$6,847.50 a metric ton. — Bloomberg