A pedestrian walks past an electronic stock indicator at the window of a security company in Tokyo on September 19, 2017. Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei index rose past 20,000 for the first time in six weeks on September 19 after Wall Street edged up to a new record close and a weak yen lifted exports. - AFP
TOKYO: Asian stocks were mostly steady on Wednesday after Wall Street again rose to record highs, although movements were limited as a wait-and-see mood prevailed before the Federal Reserve reveals its monetary policy stance later in the day.
The caution in financial markets ahead of the Fed has kept investors from making sharper adjustments to their positions despite heightened tensions over the Korean peninsula following hawkish statements from U.S. President Donald Trump overnight.
The Fed is due to announce its decision at 1800 GMT on Wednesday and is widely expected to keep rates unchanged after a two-day meeting but could begin paring its bond holdings, with reductions likely to start in coming months.
The financial markets will also sift through the "dot plot" representing Fed policymakers' rate projections for any hints of a rate hike in December.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan <.MIAPJ0000PUS> stood little changed.
Japan's Nikkei <.N225> was flat. Shanghai <.SSEC> lost 0.2 percent while Hong Kong's Hang Seng <.HSI> added 0.2 percent.
The three major U.S. stock indexes edged higher on Tuesday, logging record closes, with financial stocks providing the biggest boost. [.N]
"A benign outcome for equities would be the Fed going somewhere in between being too passive on reducing its bond holdings and too aggressive in hiking interest rates," said Soichiro Monji, chief strategist at Daiwa SB Investments in Tokyo.
"There may be some speculation towards the Fed sounding slightly dovish, but over the few weeks hawkish rhetoric has come into vogue globally as demonstrated by the Bank of Canada and Bank of England," he said.
The Canadian central bank hiked interest rates this month and left the door open for more tightening, while a BoE policymaker hinted last week that it might need to raise rates in the coming months.
The dollar hovered close to an eight-week high against the yen, buoyed with U.S. Treasury yields having risen to one-month highs before the Fed's policy announcement.
The greenback was little changed at 111.515 yen
Currency markets had a muted reaction to Trump's latest comments on North Korea.
Trump said in a speech to the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday that the United States will be forced to "totally destroy" North Korea unless Pyongyang backs down from its nuclear challenge.
South Korea's KOSPI <.KS11> was down 0.1 percent and the won
"Trump's comments were actually very strong and the won would have moved more if it were not for the overall cautious mood before the Fed's decision," said Kim Doo-un, a foreign exchange analyst at Hana Financial Investment Seoul.
"The market doesn't seem to have any strong risk-off sentiment, even after Trump's comments," said Masashi Murata, currency strategist for Brown Brothers Harriman in Tokyo.
The euro edged up to touch $1.2019
The dollar index <.DXY> against a basket of six major currencies was down fractionally at 91.736.
The 10-year Treasury note yield
In commodities, oil prices rose after Iraq's oil minister said OPEC and other crude producers were considering extending or even deepening a supply cut to curb a global glut, while a report showed a smaller-than-expected increase in U.S. inventories. [O/R]
Brent crude futures
Earlier report:
Asia markets steady after Wall St. notches record highs, US$r holds firm
TOKYO: Asian stocks were mostly steady on Wednesday after Wall Street again rose to record highs, although movements were limited as a wait-and-see mood prevailed before the Federal Reserve reveals its monetary policy stance later in the day.
The Fed announcement is due at 1800 GMT (3 am Thursday Tokyo time). It is widely expected to keep rates steady after a two-day meeting but announce it will begin paring its bond holdings, with reductions likely to start in coming months.
The financial markets will also sift through the "dot plot" representing Fed policymakers' rate projections for any hints of a rate hike in December.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan <.MIAPJ0000PUS> was down 0.1 percent.
Japan's Nikkei <.N225> was flat and South Korea's KOSPI <.KS11> was off 0.2 percent.
The three major U.S. stock indexes edged higher on Tuesday, logging record closes, with financial stocks providing the biggest boost. [.N]
"A benign outcome for equities would be the Fed going somewhere in between being too passive on reducing its bond holdings and too aggressive in hiking interest rates," said Soichiro Monji, chief strategist at Daiwa SB Investments in Tokyo.
"There may be some speculation towards the Fed sounding slightly dovish, but over the few weeks hawkish rhetoric has come into vogue globally as demonstrated by the Bank of Canada and Bank of England," he said.
The Canadian central bank hiked interest rates this month and left the door open for more tightening, while a BoE policymaker hinted last week that it might need to raise rates in the coming months.
The dollar hovered in close distance of an eight-week high against the yen, buoyed with U.S. Treasury yields having risen to one-month highs before the Fed's policy announcement.
The greenback was little changed at 111.640 yen
The 10-year Treasury note yield
The euro was flat at $1.1992
The dollar index <.DXY> against a basket of six major currencies was up fractionally to 91.868.
In commodities, crude oil prices rose, remaining buoyant ahead of Friday's meeting between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-OPEC producers to discuss the state of their 1.8-million barrel-per-day supply cut deal. [O/R]
Brent crude futures
Earlier report:
Limited time offer:
Just RM5 per month.
