SYDNEY: Asian share markets were narrowly mixed on Wednesday as investors anxiously awaited another batch of Chinese data while strength in the U.S. dollar kept the screws on global commodity prices.
Markets will be vulnerable to any whiff of disappointment in Chinese figures on retail sales, industrial production and urban investment, particularly given recent downward surprises on inflation and trade.
Concerns about Chinese demand were evident in Japan where a Reuters survey showed confidence among manufacturers fell in November for a third straight month to levels unseen in about 2-1/2 years.
Japan's Nikkei slipped 0.3 percent, though that follows a run of strong gains.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged up 0.1 percent having sunk to a one-month low on Tuesday. Australian stocks eked out a 0.3 percent gain after two sessions of losses.
Wall Street offered no direction after a flat finish. The Dow <.DJI> ended Tuesday with a slight gain of 0.16 percent, while the S&P 500 <.SPX> added 0.15 percent and the Nasdaq <.IXIC> eased 0.24 percent.
Weighing on the Nasdaq, Apple shares
In currency markets, the euro nursed broad losses as political uncertainty in Portugal provided an excuse to sell in a market already bracing for further monetary policy easing from the European Central Bank. [USD/]
The common currency last stood at $1.0733
The dollar index <.DXY> broke back above its post-payrolls high of 99.345 to scale a fresh seven-month peak of 99.504. It was last at 99.101.
Against the yen, the greenback fetched 123.15
Yields on sovereign bonds were generally lower as soft Chinese inflation continued to point to global deflationary pressures.
Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields
The Treasury market is closed on Wednesday for Veterans Day, but Wall Street will be open.
In commodities, the rising U.S. dollar continues to weigh on prices with zinc at its lowest in over five years. [MET/L]
Oil prices resumed their decline on news U.S. crude stocks jumped last week. U.S. crude
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