Egypt's unemployment rate falls in Q2 '25 – CAPMAS    EGP swings vs. USD in early Sunday trade    EGX launches 1st phone app    Egypt achieves record primary budget surplus of EGP 629bn despite sharp fall in Suez Canal revenues    Escalation in Gaza, West Bank as Israeli strikes continue amid mounting international criticism    Egypt recovers collection of ancient artefacts from Netherlands    Resumption of production at El Nasr marks strategic step towards localising automotive industry: El-Shimy    Egypt harvests 315,000 cubic metres of rainwater in Sinai as part of flash flood protection measures    Egypt, UNDP discuss outcomes of joint projects, future environmental cooperation    United Bank achieves EGP 1.51bn net profit in H1 2025, up 26.9% year-on-year    After Putin summit, Trump says peace deal is best way to end Ukraine war    Egypt, Namibia explore closer pharmaceutical cooperation    Jordan condemns Israeli PM remarks on 'Greater Israel'    Renowned Egyptian novelist Sonallah Ibrahim dies at 88    Egypt's FM discusses Gaza, bilateral ties in calls with Saudi, South African counterparts    Egypt prepares to tackle seasonal air pollution in Nile Delta    Al-Sisi says any party thinking Egypt will neglect water rights is 'completely mistaken'    Egyptian, Ugandan Presidents open business forum to boost trade    Egypt's Sisi, Uganda's Museveni discuss boosting ties    Egypt's Sisi warns against unilateral Nile measures, reaffirms Egypt's water security stance    Egypt, Colombia discuss medical support for Palestinians injured in Gaza    Egypt, Huawei explore healthcare digital transformation cooperation    Egypt's Sisi, Sudan's Idris discuss strategic ties, stability    Egypt's govt. issues licensing controls for used cooking oil activities    Egypt to inaugurate Grand Egyptian Museum on 1 November    Egypt's Sisi: Egypt is gateway for aid to Gaza, not displacement    Greco-Roman rock-cut tombs unearthed in Egypt's Aswan    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







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Asian Shares On Edge As Investors Brace For Fed
Published in Amwal Al Ghad on 16 - 09 - 2014

Asian shares fell to 10-week lows on Tuesday as investors braced for a possible hawkish shift in the Federal Reserve's policy stance in the lead-up to the U.S. central bank's two-day policy meeting later in the day.
Financial spreadbetters predicted a brighter opening in Europe, expecting Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE to open 6 to 8 points higher ahead of Thursday's vote on Scottish independence, and France's CAC 40 .FCHI to open 2 to 3 points higher, for a gain of 0.1 percent for each. Germany's DAX .GDAXI was seen opening 3 to 4 points higher, or flat on the day in percentage terms ahead of the ZEW investor confidence survey.
"Still clouded by the prospects of an independent Scotland, markets in Europe look set for a slightly higher start ahead of UK inflation, German investor confidence and an increase in telecoms merger activity," Jasper Lawler, market analyst at CMC Markets, said in a note to clients.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS shed 0.6 percent to its lowest level since late June. Japan's Nikkei stock average .N225 snapped a five-session winning streak to close down 0.2 percent, catching up after Tokyo markets were closed for a local holiday on Monday.
Speculation that the Fed could raise interest rates sooner and faster than previously expected has rattled many share markets around the globe and supported the U.S. dollar.
The Fed's Open Market Committee will begin its regular two-day policy meeting later on Tuesday, and investors will be scanning the outcome for clues on the timing of the first U.S. rate hike in more than eight years.
U.S. central bank policymakers will also release fresh economic and interest-rate projections, extending their forecast horizon through 2017.
They have said they do not expect to raise rates until 2015, but recently strong U.S. economic data has led Fed officials to acknowledge they may need to act sooner than they thought just a few months ago.
"At Wednesday's FOMC meeting, changes to Fed forecasts and wording that reflects expectations that rates could go higher sooner than expected should provide support" to the U.S. dollar, strategists at Barclays said. "We also look for a modest steepening in the median policy path and more clarity on exit principles."
Wall Street had a mixed session on Monday after weekend data showed China's factory output in August grew at its slowest pace in nearly six years, raising fears the world's second-largest economy was losing momentum.
"The fall in the real estate sector activity is affecting output. Everyone knows August is pretty weak, so if things improve in September, that would reassure investors," said Hirokazu Yuihama, senior strategist at Daiwa Securities.
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was steady on the day at 84.294 .DXY, not far from its 14-month peak of 84.519 scaled a week ago.
Keeping pressure on the euro, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development projected lower growth for major economies on Monday and urged much more aggressive stimulus from the European Central Bank to ward off the risk of deflation.
The euro edged down slightly to $1.2935 EUR=, while the dollar added about 0.1 percent against its Japanese rival to 107.27 yen, not far from a six-year high of 107.39 yen touched on Friday.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note US10YT=RR stood at 2.572 percent in Asia, compared with Monday's U.S. close of 2.591 percent. It hit a two-month high of 2.651 percent on Monday, before paring its rise on news of a drop in last month's U.S. manufacturing output.
U.S. crude CLc1 lost about 0.3 percent to $92.66 a barrel, pressured by the weekend data from China that cast doubt on the strength of global demand. On Monday, the expiring Brent LCOc1 contract for October dropped to its lowest price since July 2012, while the new front-month contract steadied in Asian trade to $97.90.
Spot gold XAU= edged up on the day to $1,235.30 an ounce, supported by the Chinese data but undermined by expectations that the Fed will start hinting at interest rate hikes. On Monday, it fell to its lowest level since January.
Source : Reuters


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