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GLOBAL MARKETS-Battered Asia shares try to rally on talk of Fed pause

Published 2018-12-06, 07:28 p/m
Updated 2018-12-06, 07:30 p/m
© Reuters.  GLOBAL MARKETS-Battered Asia shares try to rally on talk of Fed pause

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

* Asia shares ex-Japan bounce 0.4 pct, E-Minis edge up

* WSJ reports Fed weighing pause after Dec rate rise

* Bonds rally as markets price in less than one hike next year

* Oil nursing losses awaiting an OPEC deal on output cuts

By Wayne Cole

SYDNEY, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Asian share markets tried to find their footing on Friday as speculation the Federal Reserve might be "one-and-done" with U.S. rate hikes helped salve some wounds after a punishing week.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS nudged up 0.l3 percent, though that followed a 1.8 percent drubbing on Thursday.

Japan's Nikkei .N225 added 0.9 percent and E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 ECc1 edged up 0.1 percent.

Concerns over Sino-U.S. relations remain heightened after the arrest of smartphone maker Huawei Technologies Co Ltd HWT.UL Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou, which threatened to chill talks on some form of trade truce. also face a test from U.S. payrolls data later in the session amid speculation the economy was heading for a tough patch after years of solid growth.

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell emphasised the strength of the labour market in remarks made late Thursday. polled by Reuters forecast jobs rose by 200,000 in November after surging 250,000 in October. view has developed of U.S. growth normalising a little faster than expected from the fiscal 'sugar rush', while inflationary pressures remain contained given the sharp fall in the oil price," said National Australia Bank economist Tapa Strickland.

"Payrolls will be very important in helping to validate whether the economy is indeed slowing faster than expected."

The mood brightened a little after the Wall Street Journal reported Fed officials are considering whether to signal a new wait-and-see mentality after a likely rate increase at their meeting in December. only added to recent feverish speculation the central bank was almost done on hiking rates given concerns on global growth and the disinflationary impact of collapsing oil prices.

Interest rate futures 0#FF: rallied hard in massive volumes with the market now pricing in less than one hike next year. A month ago they had been wagering on three increases.

The news helped Wall Street pare early steep losses and the Dow .DJI ended 0.32 percent lower, while the S&P 500 .SPX lost 0.15 percent. The Nasdaq .IXIC even added 0.42 percent.

FLATTENED

Treasuries extended their blistering rally, driving 10-year yields down to a three-month trough at 2.8260 percent, before last trading at 2.8973 percent US10YT=TWEB .

Yields on two-year notes US2YT=TWEB fell a huge 10 basis points at one stage on Thursday and were last at 2.77 percent.

Investors also steamrolled the yield curve to its flattest in over a decade, a trend that has historically presaged economic slowdowns and even recessions.

"The sort of flattening of the yield curve that we have seen recently usually indicates that investors think the Fed is nearing the end of a tightening cycle, and that rate cuts may even be on the horizon," argued analysts at Capital Economics.

The seismic shock spread far and wide. Yields on 10-year paper sank to the lowest in six months in Germany, almost 12 months in Canada and 16 months in Australia.

The sea change in expectations took a toll on the U.S. dollar as bulls had been counting heavily on a steady widening rate differential to propel the currency.

The greenback eased against a basket of currencies to 96.779 .DXY , and fell to 112.69 yen JPY= from a 113.85 high at the start of the week. The euro was up around 0.5 percent on the week so far at $1.1376 EUR= .

Cyber currency Bitcoin took another spill, sliding more than 6 percent to $3,446.17 BTC=BTSP .

In commodity markets, gold firmed to near a five-month peak as the dollar eased and the threat of higher interest rates waned. Spot gold XAU= stood at $1,237.61 per ounce.

Oil was less favoured, however, falling nearly 3 percent on Thursday after OPEC and its allies ended a meeting without announcing a decision to cut crude output. had tentatively agreed to cut output but was waiting for a commitment from non-OPEC heavyweight Russia before deciding volumes. O/R

Brent futures LCOc1 had ended with a loss of $1.21 at $60.67 a barrel. U.S. crude CLc1 edged up 6 cents in early trade Friday to $51.55, having lost $1.31 overnight.

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

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

https://tmsnrt.rs/2Dr2BQA

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Editing by Sam Holmes)

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