Asian shares remain steady, dollar firm ahead of US inflation data report

Asian stocks edged up, helped by the technology sector, while the dollar held firm on Wednesday ahead of a key US inflation report and Federal Reserve policy decision that would determine the near-term outlook for interest rates.

 

European markets are also set to open slightly higher, with EUROSTOXX 50 futures up 0.3 per cent and the FTSE futures gaining 0.4 per cent. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures turned 0.1 per cent higher in Asia.

 

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.3 per cent, while Japan’s Nikkei slid 0.5 per cent. Technology shares in the region outperformed, with MSCI Asia-Pacific ex-Japan IT index up 1.8 per cent.

 

Overnight on Wall Street, Apple surged 7 per cent to a record high a day after it unveiled new AI features meant to rekindle demand for iPhones. That helped Nasdaq Composite rise 0.9 per cent and the S&P 500 gain 0.3 per cent to record closing highs.

 

Tech-heavy Taiwan and South Korean shares followed suit with gains of 1.3 per cent and 0.4 per cent, respectively.

Chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co jumped 3.2 per cent.

 

Elsewhere, caution reigned, with still soft price data from China failing to lift sentiment much. Data showed on Wednesday that China’s consumer prices fell 0.1 per cent in May from a month earlier, missing forecasts. On an annual basis, they rose 0.3 per cent.

 

China’s blue chips wobbled between gains and losses and were last up 0.1 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1.1 per cent, weighed by a 20 per cent plunge in China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group, after the unit of developer China Evergrande warned of losing assets.

 

Focus is now turning to the US CPI data later in the day, which is forecast to rise a slim 0.1 per cent in May from a month earlier, but with the core up 0.3 per cent.

 

“The countdown is on, with the market going into full risk management mode,” said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone. “There aren’t a whole lot of reasons to jump in and support the opening weakness either, so we could easily see further selling on open.”

 

“I like to use US core CPI m/m as my simple playbook guide, so any number that rounds to 0.2 per cent m/m could offer relief in risk markets and bring out US dollar sellers, while a number that rounds to 0.4 per cent could see US two-year yields rise and with it the US dollar comes in hot.”

 

In the currency markets, the dollar index has maintained all of its post-payrolls gains since Friday, standing tall at 105.26 against its major peers.

 

The euro was nursing heavy losses at $1.0737, down for a fourth straight session, amid political turmoil brought about by far right gains in European elections and the snap election in France.

 

Hours after the release of the US CPI data, the Fed is considered certain to hold steady at its policy meeting, but the focus is on whether it keeps three rate cuts in its “dot plot” projections for this year.

 

Futures imply 39 basis points of Fed easing for this year, equivalent to just one and a half cuts.

 

Treasuries, which rallied overnight on the robust result of a 10-year Treasury auction, steadied. The 10-year yield held at 4.4079 per cent, after falling 7 bps the previous session.

 

“Treasuries will react to the dot plot and possible dovish lean from Powell with a modest bull steepening. However, continued range trading is likely given ongoing “data dependent” outlook,” said analysts at TD Securities.

 

Oil prices extended gains for a third straight session. Brent futures rose 0.5 per cent to $82.36 a barrel, while US crude futures gained 0.7 per cent to $78.45 a barrel.

 

Gold prices edged 0.1 per cent lower to $2,313.72 per ounce.

First Published: Jun 12 2024 | 12:16 PM IST