Asian stocks stuttered ahead of Fed: Frail yen in focus

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Asian stocks stuttered on Wednesday ahead of a keenly-awaited policy decision from the Federal Reserve later in the day.

Reuters: Asian stocks stuttered on Wednesday ahead of a keenly-awaited policy decision from the Federal Reserve later in the day, while the yen was stuck near one-year lows against the dollar, keeping markets on edge for possible intervention by Tokyo.MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 0.13% lower, starting November in a sombre mood after clocking three straight months of losses. Japan’s Nikkei was 2% higher. China shares eased 0.

Overnight, Wall Street’s main indexes ended higher, with investors looking ahead to the Fed policy decision later in the day, when the central bank is expected to stand pat on interest rates. Traders will scrutinize what Fed Chair Jerome Powell says in his post-policy meeting comments to gauge the path of interest rates and how long rates will stay elevated.

Money market traders are betting that the BoE is finished with rate increases in this tightening cycle, with rate cuts priced towards the end of next year. Most economists also said the BoE is likely to be done with tightening and will leave the Bank Rate at 5.25% later this week, a Reuters survey found. By 1126 GMT, the pound was up 0.2% versus the dollar at $1.2190 but was still on track for a third consecutive monthly loss. Sterling was last at 87.48 pence per euro, down around 0.

 

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