SYDNEY, Sept 19 — Share markets idled in Asia today as investors braced for a week littered with 13 central bank meetings that are certain to see borrowing costs rise across the globe and some risk of a super-sized hike in the United States.
“Our answer is high enough to generate a tightening in financial conditions that imposes a drag on activity sufficient to maintain a solidly below-potential growth trajectory.” Today, holidays in Japan and the UK made for a slow start and S&P 500 futures were up 0.1 per cent, while Nasdaq futures were flat.MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.3 per cent, after losing almost 3 per cent last week.
“Our suite of 38 proprietary growth indicators depict a grim outlook for global growth, yet we are staring at one of the most aggressive tightening episodes in history, with 85 per cent of the global central banks in tightening mode.”