Washington
Asian equities eased from a record high on Thursday as stalled US stimulus talks and a sell-off in tech stocks weighed, while sterling traders sat on a knife’s edge as last-ditch Brexit negotiations yielded only an agreement to keep talking.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.3%, while Japan’s Nikkei fell by the same margin. Both are up more than 60% from March lows.
US Treasuries rose and the dollar steadied after a volatile overnight session in currency markets, with traders now looking ahead to a European Central Bank monetary policy meeting. Sterling teetered at $1.3363 as it awaits a Brexit resolution. “We’ve risen so far so fast that it’s making investors cautious,” said Michael McCarthy, chief strategist at stockbroker CMC Markets in Sydney.— Reuters
