Asian stocks on the brink when Fed Chair Day speech day arrives

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HONG KONG, Aug. 27 (Reuters) – Asian equities mixed on Friday morning as slight gains in China were offset by falls elsewhere and investors around the world were cautious in the face of a long-awaited speech by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell.

Statements by the Federal Reserve’s most deficient political leaders and a deadly attack on Afghanistan also dampened sentiment and helped win the dollar against a basket of comrades.

MSCI’s broader Asia-Pacific stock index outside of Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) lost 0.1%, while Japan’s Nikkei (.N225) fell 0.46%.

Shares of Australia (.AXJO) fell 0.18% and Hong Kong (.HSI) and Korea (.KS11) were flat.

However, in an investment in recent weeks, where Chinese stocks weighed on the region, Chinese blue chips (.CSI300) gained 0.57% after China’s central bank made its weekly injection of largest cash in the banking system since February. Read more

“There are three things that are conspiring right now to diminish sentiment,” IG market analyst Kyle Rodda said, referring to a weak Wall Street advantage after the attack on Afghanistan, the fact that Asian markets had lagged behind this week because investors were nervous about the potential for future regulatory crackdowns in China and were cautious ahead of the upcoming Jackson Hole symposium.

Powell will speak at 1,400 GMT at the Kansas City Fed’s central banking conference, an event typically held in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, which Fed policymakers have often used to provide guidance on their future policy.

Traders will analyze Powell’s words for suggestions on when the Fed will begin downsizing its asset purchase program.

RBC analysts said in a note that while much of the summer had been spent waiting for the event, there was “skepticism that the Fed would provide more specific information around a timetable … in the midst of an increase in COVID cases of the Delta variant “.

Islamic State on Thursday stormed the cramped gates of Kabul airport in a suicide bomb attack, which killed dozens of civilians and at least 13 U.S. troops. Read more

This, along with public statements from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s falconry wing urging the central bank to start stopping bond purchases, contributed to the slightly lower closing of Wall Street, which ended in a streak of historical closing highs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) fell 0.54%, the S&P 500 (.SPX) lost 0.58% and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) fell 0.64%.

Dallas Fed Chairman Robert Kaplan said he believed the progress of the economic recovery would justify a reduction in Fed asset purchases to begin in October or shortly thereafter, following previous comments from the president of the Fed of St. a plan to start shrinking. Read more

In the early hours of Asia, the future U.S. stock markets, the S&P 500 e-minis, were flat.

The yield on Treasury notes at the 10-year benchmark fell 1.3441% from the two-week high of 1.375% set the day before, as traders were cautious over Powell’s speech.

The dollar, measured with a basket of currencies, has gained a bit on Thursday’s lows. The euro was trading at $ 1.1747, after slowing from the previous day’s high of $ 1.1779, as a survey showed weaker consumer sentiment in Germany. Read more

US crude rose 0.34% to $ 67.65 a barrel. Brent crude rose 0.25% to $ 71.27 a barrel, and resumed concentration this week after resting on Thursday as energy companies began closing production in the Gulf of Mexico earlier. of forecasting a potential hurricane that would arrive over the weekend.

Edited by Stephen Coates

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