* Asian stock markets: https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
* Markets mostly hold levels on mixed data
* Holidays sideline many Asian markets
* S&P futures down 0.1%
* Australian stocks off 0.15%
*
*
By David Henry
Feb 11 (Reuters) – In early trading on Friday global marketswere holding steady or slipping a bit as investors looked overmixed data and watched for the next catalyst.
The Australian S&P/ASX 200 Index was last down0.15%and futures for the S&P 500 were off 0.1%.
Markets in Greater China and most of Southeast Asia areclosed on Friday for the Lunar New Year holiday. China’s stockand bond markets, foreign exchange and commodity futures marketsare closed through Feb. 17 for the holiday.
Trading in the United States and Europe on Thursday did notmove prices enough to provide much direction, said TomPiotrowski, a market analyst at CommSec in Sydney.
“We didn’t get much of a lead-in from the northernhemisphere,” Piotrowski said. “Markets are in a bit of a holdingpattern waiting for the next catalyst and it is just a questionof whether that catalyst is going to be a positive one or anegative one.”
World stock markets were holding close to record highs onThursday as investors weighed some tepid economic data againstincreasing vaccinations against COVID-19 and the prospect thatmore government spending and continued cheap money from centralbanks will drive higher growth and, eventually, inflation.
The MSCI world equity index, which tracksshares in 49 countries, rose 0.25% on Thursday, adding aninth-straight day of gains.
On Wall Street, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 ekedout gains of 0.4% and 0.2%, respectively, while the Dow JonesIndustrial Average slipped 0.02%.
Prices held near records as investors bet on more governmentspending, although enthusiasm was tempered when U.S. PresidentJoe Biden argued for more infrastructure spending by saying inpart that China was poised to “eat our lunch.”
The U.S. government reported that weekly unemployment claimsfell slightly last week, but not as much as economists polled byReuters had expected.
Such labor market woes have strengthened Biden’s push formore spending. Biden, in a meeting on Thursday with members ofCongress, said he will ask for heavy investments in U.S.infrastructure.
He added that the United States must raise its game in theface of competition from China. “If we don’t get moving, theyare going to eat our lunch,” he said.
Studies show about half of U.S. roads are in poor ormediocre condition and one-third of bridges need work orreplacement.
The infrastructure effort, analyst said, could add trillionsof dollars more spending to the $1.9 trillion emergency stimulusbill Biden is urging Congress to pass. nL1N2KG2IN]
The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasuries was last at1.1648, 3 basis points higher than the day before and thebiggest one-day change this week.
The weaker bidding for Treasuries came on soft demand for$27 billion of new 30-year bonds on Thursday. Earlier in theweek, strong demand for new sales of 10-year and three-yearnotes tempered yields.
Bond investors have been juggling the prospect of increasingsupplies of Treasuries with changing outlooks for fastereconomic growth and inflation.
The dollar index drifted 0.02% lower on Fridaymorning after dipping for a fourth day on Thursday on the weakU.S. jobless claims data.
U.S. crude was unchanged early Friday at $57.92 perbarrel. Oil ended a record streak of gains on Thursday afterboth OPEC and the International Energy Agency said renewedlockdowns and the emergence of new coronavirus variants reducedthe prospect of a swift recovery in demand.
Cryptocurrency bitcoin [BTC=BTSP} was up/down 6.9% on theday at $47,937.82 at 2310 GMT after setting a record high of$48,481.45 on Thursday. The move came after BNY Mellonsaid it will form a new unit to help clients hold, transfer andissue digital assets.
Spot gold was last up 0.05% to $1,826.30 per ounce.U.S. gold futures settled down 0.9% on Thursday.
(Reporting by David Henry in New York; Editing by StephenCoates)
