Asian Equities Trim Gains Amidst US-China Trade Tensions

Key Highlights:

* Chinese shares open lower, dampening Asian equity gains.
* Hong Kong stocks decline, while Asian stock index retracts some gains.
* US equity futures dip as Alphabet and AMD slide in extended trading.
* Currency volatility: Yen strengthens against dollar, while offshore yuan holds steady.
* Beijing's swift retaliation to US tariffs raises market uncertainty.
* Goldman Sachs forecasts a 14% rise in MSCI China Index by year-end.
* Trump imposes tariffs on China, leading to Beijing's retaliatory measures.
* Japan's services sector slows unexpectedly, but extends growth streak.
* Bank of Japan's rate hike expectations support yen appreciation.
* Oil prices dip as trade war concerns overshadow Iran sanctions.
* US stock indexes rally with Bloomberg "Magnificent Seven" megacaps advancing 1.7%.

Market Movements:

Stocks:

* S&P 500 futures: -0.4%
* Tokyo's Topix: Flat
* Australia's S&P/ASX 200: +0.6%
* Hong Kong's Hang Seng: -1.2%
* Euro Stoxx 50 futures: -0.4%
* Nasdaq 100 futures: -0.5%

Currencies:

* Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index: Stable
* Euro: $1.0382
* Japanese Yen: 153.38/dollar
* Offshore Yuan: 7.2878/dollar
* Australian Dollar: $0.6252

Cryptocurrencies:

* Bitcoin: $97,710.23 (+1.2%)
* Ether: $2,721.94 (+3.1%)

Bonds:

* 10-year Treasury yield: 4.51%
* Australia's 10-year yield: 4.39%

Commodities:

* West Texas Intermediate crude: $72.58 (-0.2%)
* Spot gold: $2,852.24 (+0.3%)