Asian stocks falter as Fed fails to offer fresh cause for cheer

Asian stocks fell and the dollar advanced on Thursday after the Federal Reserve pledged to keep interest rates low for a long time but stopped short of offering further stimulus to shore up a battered U.S. economy.

Asian Stocks

• European stocks are expected to follow suit, with the futures for the bellwether Euro Stoxx 50 index trading 0.96% lower in early trade.
• MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan lost 1.01%, running out of steam after five straight days of gains.
• Japan’s Nikkei shed 0.63%.
• U.S. S&P 500 futures fell 1.03% in Asia on Thursday following a 0.46% drop in the S&P 500 on Wall Street.

Bonds

• The 10-year U.S. Treasuries yielded 0.677%, a few basis points above its levels before the Fed.

Currency Markets

• The U.S. dollar gained against most other currencies.
• The euro dropped 0.4% to $1.1767.
• The Australian dollar lost 0.4% to $0.7278, having erased earlier gains made after stronger-than-expected local jobs data.
• The Chinese yuan also dropped about 0.35% to 6.7686 per dollar, stepping back from a 16-month high hit on Wednesday.
• The yen was little moved at 104.98 to the dollar having hit a 1-1/2-month high of 104.80 per dollar overnight.

Commodities

• Brent crude dropped 0.99% to $41.80 per barrel while U.S. crude fell 1.2% to $39.68 per barrel.
• Gold also slipped 0.8% to $1,943.8 per ounce.