[ad_1]
(Adds Chinese stocks, oil, updates prices throughout)
* Asian Stock Exchanges: tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
* MSCI Asia-Pacific flat off Japan, Australian stocks down
* Dollar index near the top of a year and a half
* China and the United States could reach an agreement – Kudlow
* Sterling among the worst performers at Brexit
By Swati Pandey
SYDNEY, Nov. 28 (Reuters) – Asian stocks trounced on Wednesday and the dollar has peaked nearly a year and a half as risky assets rebounded against contradictory signals about prospects for the year. a reduction in the Sino-US trade conflict.
The broadest MSCI index of Asia-Pacific equities outside Japan is between the positive and negative sectors, while the latter has remained unchanged. Australian and South Korean stocks both lost 0.2%.
Japan's Nikkei gained 0.7%. Chinese indices lost small gains in the beginning. The index of blue chips was flat.
Asian markets tumbled Tuesday after US President Donald Trump told the Wall Street Journal that it was "very unlikely" that he would accept China's request to delay the planned increase in tariffs. from 25% to 25%.
However, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow sought to illuminate the mood by confirming the holding of a pow-wow between Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at an upcoming rally. of the G20 in Argentina. He also suggested that the two countries could reach a trade deal.
The news has boosted the main Wall Street indexes, which ended in positive territory after spending a good part of the session in the red.
It was still unclear whether both parties had agreed on an official agenda for the leaders' meeting after the G20 summit and Kudlow said that there were no scheduled talks on the ground for their advisers.
At the same time, a German magazine reported, quoting European sources, that Trump could impose tariffs on imported cars from next week, thus reducing European motor vehicle stocks.
Also Tuesday, a German magazine published an article citing EU sources claiming that Trump could impose tariffs on imported cars from next week, which would significantly reduce European motor vehicle stocks .
"The market has become cautious again with many headlines announcing the prospect of a new wave of tariffs," said Rodrigo Catril, senior strategist at National Australia Bank.
"The market seems to be in the shadow at the moment and in this context of uncertainty, the US dollar remains the preferred option to weather the storm.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback versus a basket of major currencies, surged overnight to 97,497 to hit a record high of one and a half to 97,661 at the beginning of the month. It was the last at 97.412.
Investors will now draw attention to Wednesday's speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on the number of times the US central bank is likely to raise rates.
The event has become all the more critical as signs of a global slowdown and market volatility of nearly two months have overshadowed a rather optimistic American image, prompting speculation that the Fed will slow the rate hike next year.
Traders will watch the speech in the light of Trump's criticism of Powell in a newspaper interview in which the president says that interest rates and other Fed policies have hurt the US economy.
Elsewhere in the foreign exchange market, the pound was among the best performing on the first day. It was down 0.1 percent to $ 1.2733.
British Prime Minister Theresa May will travel to Scotland on Wednesday with her Brexit argument, where she will likely face a fierce battle to convince skeptical voters of the benefits of her agreement for business.
May must win a parliamentary vote on December 11 on his Brexit deal, but that sounds difficult with an apparent majority of lawmakers – including the Scottish National Party with 35 of the 59 seats in the Scottish Parliament – against.
In commodities markets, oil was cautiously on the rise before the OPEC meeting next week during which the producers' club should decide on a form of reduction in oil prices. offer to counter the emerging glut.
Futures on US crude added 28 cents to 51.84 dollars a barrel. Brent climbed 28 cents to $ 60.49.
Despite a rise on Wednesday morning, oil prices have fallen by nearly a third since early October, due to oversupply and widespread weakness in the financial markets.
Edited by Shri Navaratnam and Richard Borsuk
Source link
