Asian shares dropped from six-month highs on Wednesday as investors took profits ahead of a policy decision by the U.S. Federal Reserve which is expected to shed more light on its interest rate plans for the rest of the year.
Asian Shares
- MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 0.4 percent.
- Japan’s Nikkei was little changed while mainland Chinese shares fell 0.5 percent.
- S&P 500 losing 0.01 percent and the Nasdaq adding 0.12 percent.
Currency
The British pound remained hostage to headlines on Brexit.
Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to ask the European Union to delay Brexit by at least three months after her plan to hold a third vote on her deal was thrown into disarray by a surprise intervention from the speaker of parliament.
May had earlier warned parliament that if it did not ratify her deal, she would ask to delay Brexit beyond June 30, a step that Brexit’s advocates fear would endanger the entire divorce.
- The dollar’s index against a basket of six major currencies hit 2 1/2-week low of 96.288.
- The euro traded minored changed at $1.1354.
- The dollar fetched 111.61 yen.
- The Australian dollar dipped 0.2 percent to $0.7071.
- Sterling last stood flat at $1.3265, off its nine-month peak of $1.3380 hit a week ago.
Commodities
- U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures stood flat at $59.02 per barrel after touching their highest since November at $59.57 on Tuesday.
