SYDNEY: Asian shares consolidated recent gains and currencies kept to tight ranges on Wednesday as investors waited to see what policies might emerge from China's Communist Party conference.
The twice-a-decade congress is expected to cement the power of President Xi Jinping, who kicked off the week-long event with a wide-ranging speech in which he said the market would be allowed to play a decisive role in allocating resources.
Investors are keen for any direction on economic and financial market reform over the next five years, though history suggests these events can be light on detail.
On Tuesday, the United States again declined to name China as a currency manipulator although it remained critical of the Chinese government's economic policies ahead of a planned visit to Beijing by President Donald Trump.
The blue-chip CSI300 index <.CSI300> was up 0.3 percent, while Shanghai stocks <.SSEC> added 0.1 percent.
Recent economic data from the Asian giant has been generally upbeat, fuelling a tide of optimism about global growth that has benefited shares across the region.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged up 0.1 percent, near their highest since late 2007, while Australia rose 0.2 percent.
Japan's Nikkei added 0.1 percent and was trying to string together a 12th straight session of gains.
An opinion poll by Kyodo showed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's coalition was on track for a roughly two-thirds majority in Sunday's general election there.
The bullish mood on equities was evident in the latest fund manager survey from BofA Merrill Lynch.
"For the first time in six years, Goldilocks trumps secular stagnation, with a record high 48 percent of investors surveyed expecting above-trend economic growth and below-trend inflation," the survey found.
Investors were bearish on bonds with 82 percent of those surveyed expecting yields to rise in the next 12 months and a record 85 percent believing bonds were overvalued.
BEARISH ON BONDS
Yields on two-year U.S. Treasury paper
Interest rates futures <0#FF:> imply around a 90 percent probability of a Fed hike in December
The shift upward in yields lifted the dollar to one-week top against a basket of currencies <.DXY>, and kept it steady on the yen at 112.17
The euro was holding at $1.1772
Dealers were wary ahead of speeches by several policymakers from the European Central Bank due later on Wednesday, which includes President Mario Draghi.
The biggest mover had been Mexico's peso
On Wall Street, the Dow <.DJI> ended up a slim 0.18 percent having briefly broken above the 23,000-point mark for the first time on Tuesday, while the S&P 500 <.SPX> gained 0.07 percent and the Nasdaq <.IXIC> dipped 0.01 percent.
Shares in IBM
In commodity markets, talk of higher U.S. interest rates kept gold pinned at
Oil prices got a boost from a drop in U.S. crude inventories and concerns that tensions in the Middle East could disrupt supplies. Brent crude futures
Earlier report:
SYDNEY: Asian shares consolidated recent gains and currencies kept to tight ranges on Wednesday as investors waited to see what policies might emerge from China's Communist Party conference.
The twice-a-decade congress is expected to cement the authority of President Xi Jinping, who kicks off the week-long event with a speech outlining his plans for the next five years.
Markets are keen for any direction on economic and financial market reform, though history suggests these events can be light on detail.
On Tuesday, the United States again declined to name China as a currency manipulator although it remained critical of the Chinese government's economic policies ahead of a planned visit to Beijing by President Donald Trump.
Recent economic data from the Asian giant has been generally upbeat, fuelling a tide of optimism about global growth that has benefited shares across the region.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged up 0.13 percent, near their highest since late 2007, while Australia was a fraction firmer.
Japan's Nikkei added 0.3 percent and was trying to string together a 12th straight session of gains.
The bullish mood on equities was evident in the latest fund manager survey from BofA Merrill Lynch.
"For the first time in six years, Goldilocks trumps secular stagnation, with a record high 48 percent of investors surveyed expecting above-trend economic growth and below-trend inflation," the survey found.
Investors were bearish on bonds with 82 percent of those surveyed expecting yields to rise in the next 12 months and a record 85 percent believing bonds were overvalued.
Indeed, yields on two-year Treasury paper
Interest rates futures <0#FF:> imply around a 90 percent probability of a Fed hike in December
The shift upward in yields lifted the dollar to one-week top against a basket of currencies <.DXY>, and kept it steady on the yen at 112.20
The euro was holding at $1.1777
Dealers were wary ahead of speeches by several policymakers from the European Central Bank due later on Wednesday, which includes President Mario Draghi.
The biggest mover had been Mexico's peso
On Wall Street, the Dow <.DJI> ended up a slim 0.18 percent having briefly broken above the 23,000-point mark for the first time on Tuesday, while the S&P 500 <.SPX> gained 0.07 percent and the Nasdaq <.IXIC> dipped 0.01 percent.
Shares in IBM
In commodity markets, talk of higher U.S. interest rates kept gold pinned at
Oil prices started stronger with Brent crude futures
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