Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian shares flat as Fed looms, May's Brexit deal in chaos

Published 2019-03-18, 11:16 p/m
Updated 2019-03-18, 11:20 p/m
© Reuters.  GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian shares flat as Fed looms, May's Brexit deal in chaos

© Reuters. GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian shares flat as Fed looms, May's Brexit deal in chaos

* Asian stock markets : https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4

* Wall St advance, dollar flat as traders brace for a dovish Fed

* Pound drifts as UK parliament bans vote on same Brexit deal

By Tomo Uetake

TOKYO, March 19 - Asian shares held tight ranges on Tuesday ahead of the a Federal Reserve policy meeting, but were broadly supported near six-month highs on expectations the central bank might strike a dovish tone, while fresh Brexit worries dogged the pound.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was flat, easing back from its highest level since Sept. 21 hit earlier in the session.

Japan's Nikkei average .N225 dropped 0.3 percent, while Australian stocks .AXJO eased 0.1 percent.

Chinese stocks held tight ranges, with benchmark Shanghai Composite .SSEC hovering almost flat, the blue-chip CSI 300 .CSI300 declining 0.2 percent, and the Hang Seng .HSI edging 0.1 percent lower.

All three major U.S. indexes rose overnight, lifted by the bank and tech sectors, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI , the S&P 500 .SPX , and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC adding between 0.3 and 0.4 percent each. .N

"Speculators appear to be betting on a rise in stock prices on the back of a dovish Fed. The Fed is unlikely to kill such hopes. Yet there is a risk the Fed could tone down its dovishness," said Masanari Takada, cross-asset strategist at Nomura Securities.

With global economic growth appearing to slow, traders were focused on the Fed meeting, which kicks off its two-day policy meeting later in the day, for clues about the likely path of U.S. borrowing costs.

Investors will particularly look to see whether policymakers have sufficiently lowered their interest rate forecasts to more closely align their "dot plot", a diagram showing individual policymakers' rate views for the next three years. expected is more detail on a plan to stop cutting the Fed's holdings of nearly $3.8 trillion in bonds.

"A key focus is when the Fed will omit the word 'patient' from its statement, as that would be a pre-requisite for a rate hike," said Toru Yamamoto, chief fixed income strategist at Daiwa Securities.

In the currency market, the pound found firmer footing on Tuesday after slipping to as low as $1.3183 GBP=D3 overnight as lawmakers cast doubt on Prime Minister Theresa May's third attempt to get parliament to back her Brexit deal. GBP/

May's Brexit plans were thrown into further turmoil on Monday when the speaker of parliament ruled that she could not put her divorce deal to a new vote unless it was re-submitted in fundamentally different form. has only two days to win approval for her deal to leave the European Union if she wants to go to a summit with the bloc's leaders on Thursday with something to offer them in return for more time.

Meanwhile, senior diplomats said the European Union leaders could hold off making any final decision on any Brexit delay when they meet in Brussels later this week, depending on what exactly May asks them for. dollar index against a basket of six major currencies barely moved and was at 96.475 .USD , hovering close to a two-week low. The index has lost 1.2 percent after hitting a three-month high of 97.710 marked on March 7.

The Japanese yen inched up 0.2 percent to 111.19 yen JPY= to the dollar, while the euro was almost flat at $1.1342 EUR= .

Oil prices hovered just below 2019 highs on Tuesday, supported by ongoing supply cuts led by producer club OPEC. U.S. sanctions against oil producers Iran and Venezuela are also boosting crude prices, although traders say the market looks capped by rising American output. O/R

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures CLc1 were little changed at $59.09 per barrel, close to the 2019 high of $59.23 reached the previous day, while Brent crude futures LCOc1 inched up 0.1 percent to $67.62 per barrel, also not far from this year's high of $68.14.

<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Asia stock markets

https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4 Asia-Pacific valuations

https://tmsnrt.rs/2Dr2BQA The Fed's Dot Plot

https://tmsnrt.rs/2UDfpY1 Crude oil futures png

https://tmsnrt.rs/2OerQam

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.