Asian shares lost some steam in trading on Wednesday

Asian shares lost some steam in Asian trading on Wednesday while sterling came off five-month highs as investors remained uncertain whether crunch talks in Brussels would lead to a deal to avoid a disorderly British exit from the European Union.

Asian shares

  • European stocks were on track to open lower after big gains the previous day, with pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 futures (STXEc1) down 0.19%, German DAX futures (FDXc1) shedding 0.25%.
  • FTSE futures (FFIc1) losing 0.39%.
  • U.S. S&P500 futures fell 0.3% also on rising caution over U.S-China trade deal after China lambasted new legislation taking a hard line on China.
  • MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.4%.
  • Japan’s Nikkei jumped 1.5%, hitting 10-month highs.
  • South Korea’s KOSPI index climbed 0.6%, encouraged by South Korea’s central bank cutting its policy interest rate for the second time in three months.

Currency

  • The yen stood at 108.68 per dollar, compared to Tuesday’s low of 108.90.
  • The dollar’s index against a basket of six major currencies hovered near three-week lows at 98.316.
  • The euro (EUR=) was little changed at $1.1032.

Commodities

  • In commodities, Brent crude added 10 cents to $58.84 a barrel.
  • U.S. crude rose 7 cents to $52.88 after falling the previous session over fears the unrelenting U.S.-China trade war would keep squeezing the global economy.
  • Spot gold firmed slightly to $1,483.86 an ounce.

 

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