GLOBAL MARKETS-Asia off to cautious start ahead of earnings, U.S. data

* Asian stock markets : https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
* Stocks wary as U.S. earnings season kicks off
* Powell says U.S. economy at inflection point
* Strong data expected on U.S. inflation, retail sales

By Wayne Cole
SYDNEY, April 12 (Reuters) - Asian shares started cautiously
on Monday as investors wait to see if U.S. earnings can justify
sky-high valuations, while bond markets could be tested by what
should be very strong readings for U.S. inflation and retail
sales this week.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS was off 0.05% in slow early trade. Tokyo's
Nikkei .N225 edged up 0.1%, while South Korean stocks .KS11
rose 0.2%.
Investors were anxious to see how shares in Alibaba Group
Holding Ltd BABA.N fared after China slapped a record 18
billion yuan ($2.75 billion) fine on the e-commerce giant.
Reverberations could be felt beyond China as over a third of
the stock is held by U.S. investors, and given the stock making
up more than 8% of the MSCI EM index. Some felt the decision was already in the share price.
"Ever since the Ant IPO was cancelled and with the antitrust
laws in the pipeline, the market has expected that Alibaba would
pay a price," said Louis Tse, managing director at Wealthy
Securities in Hong Kong.
"I think it's good for the share price now that the news has
been delivered and it is cleared up at last." Nasdaq futures NQc1 were down 0.3% early Monday, while
S&P 500 futures ESc1 also eased 0.3%.
Growth and tech stocks had seen something of a revival last
week as U.S. 10-year Treasury yields retreated to 1.67%
US10YT=TWEB , from a 14-month top of 1.776%.
Thomas Mathews, a markets economist at Capital Economics,
doubted the rally in bonds would last, however.
"Given the pace of the economic recovery and the Fed's
apparent unwillingness to stand in the way of higher yields, we
think long-term yields will rise again before long," he said.
Over the weekend, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said
the economy was about to start growing much more quickly, though
the coronavirus remained a threat.
Data out this week are expected to show U.S. inflation
jumped in March, while retail sales is seen surging perhaps even
with a double-digit gain.
"Rapid economic growth, supported by reopening and
accommodative fiscal policy, may disproportionately benefit the
sectors of the stock market that are more sensitive to the
health of the economy," said Mathews at Capital.
"And the composition of that growth is likely to be more
skewed towards those sectors than it might have been during a
typical economic expansion."
It is also likely to show in profits. The banks kick off
first-quarter earnings season this week with Goldman Sachs
GS.N , JPMorgan JPM.N and Wells Fargo WFC.N scheduled to
report on Wednesday.
Analysts expect profits for S&P 500 firms to show a 25% jump
from a year earlier, according to Refinitiv IBES data. That
would be the strongest performance for the quarter since 2018.
The pullback in yields was enough to see the dollar come off
the boil last week. It was last trading at 92.208 =USD against
a basket of currencies, down from a peak of 93.439.
It was flat on the yen at 109.73 JPY= , and short of its
March peak of 110.96. The euro was holding at $1.1897 EUR= and
above its recent trough of $1.1702.
Gold prices were idling at $1,740 an ounce XAU= , having
failed to sustain a top of $1,758 last week. GOL/
Oil prices fell around 2% last week as production increases
and renewed COVID-19 lockdowns in some countries offset optimism
about a recovery in fuel demand. O/R
Brent LCOc1 was quoted up 33 cents on Monday at $63.28 a
barrel, while U.S. crude CLc1 added 25 cents to $59.57.

<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Asia stock markets https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
Asia-Pacific valuations https://tmsnrt.rs/2Dr2BQA
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
(Editing by Shri Navaratnam)