Asian markets make tepid gains as US shutdown set to end
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.1% in early trading as members of the House of Representatives prepared to vote on a measure that could restore funding to government agencies and end a shutdown that started on October 1 and is now the longest in US history.
Australian stocks led gains, advancing 0.2% as lithium miners drove commodity stocks higher, while Japan’s Topix jumped 0.6%.
“Sentiment improved after the US Senate passed a bill to end the longest US government shutdown on record,” analysts from Westpac wrote in a research report. “The House is expected to approve the bill in the coming days.”
S&P 500 e-mini futures were trading flat after a mixed session for US stocks on Tuesday that saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average rise 1.2% to reach a record close while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.3%.
In the absence of data from federal government agencies, traders focused on weekly jobs data from ADP on Tuesday which showed private employers shed an average of 11,250 jobs a week in the four weeks ending on Oct 25.
Traders are increasing bets on further easing from the Federal Reserve. Fed funds futures are pricing an implied 68% probability of a 25-basis-point cut at the US central bank’s next meeting on December 10, compared to a 62% chance a day earlier, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool.
The US dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was last down 0.2% at 99.451, trading near the lowest levels this month.
The US dollar was little changed against the yen at 154.13 and the euro at $1.1583.
Brent crude rose 1.6% to $65.09 per barrel, the highest since Oct 31, on the impact of the latest US sanctions on Russian oil and optimism over a potential end to the government shutdown, although oversupply concerns limited gains.
Gold was trading 0.4% higher at $4,141.35 per ounce.
Bitcoin was last up 0.4% at $103,074.41.
