Asia stocks cautious on trade talks; euro under pressure

SYDNEY: Asian shares nudged higher on Wednesday amid hints of progress in the Sino-U.S. trade saga, while the dollar hit two-month highs on the euro as investors wagered on a dovish outcome from the European Central Bank's coming policy meeting.

Not so welcome was news the U.S. Justice Department was opening an antitrust investigation of major digital tech firms and possible anticompetitive practices. The news took a little of the gloss off a solid overnight session for Wall Street, where upbeat quarterly reports from Coca-Cola and United Technologies helped ease some concerns about earnings.

In currencies, the dollar got a hand up from a deal to end the U.S. budget impasse, while the euro suffered a bout of nerves in case the ECB takes a more dovish turn. Sterling loitered at US$1.2435 having fallen for three sessions in a row as the outlook on Brexit got ever murkier.

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