Reuters: US Dollar Report: GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian shares struggle, euro dips ahead of ECB

Reuters: US Dollar Report Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Marketing Mobile Apps This online course focuses on marketing efforts that will increase your app's exposure and establish a mobile app marketing plan. Enroll today for $99. From our sponsors

GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian shares struggle, euro dips ahead of ECB Nov 5th 2013, 06:49 Share this Email Print Reprints Mon Nov 4, 2013 8:37pm EST * Fed officials offer no fresh clues on timing of stimulus withdrawal * Investors await U.S. GDP, payrolls data later this week * Euro under pressure ahead of Thursday's ECB meeting * Australian shares rise as market awaits RBA decision By Lisa Twaronite TOKYO, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Asian shares rose while the dollar was flat against a basket of currencies on Tuesday, after a spate of comments from Federal Reserve officials offered investors no reason to believe a rollback of the U.S. stimulus programme was imminent. The euro, meanwhile, was hobbled by expectations that the European Central Bank will cut rates further, with a few strategists and investors saying action could come as early as its policy meeting on Thursday. Eric Rosengren, president of the Boston Fed, said late on Monday that it may be appropriate to reduce the quantitative easing program when there is "compelling evidence of a sustainable recovery making satisfactory progress toward full employment." Earlier on Monday, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said the central bank need not rush because inflation remains low, while Fed Board Governor Jerome Powell said the tapering timing "is necessarily uncertain, as it depends on the evolution of the economy." MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.3 percent, while Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 0.5 percent. Australian shares gained 0.7 percent ahead of the conclusion of the Reserve Bank of Australia's policy meeting later in the session. The RBA will announce its decision at 0330 GMT and is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged for a third month amid signs past cuts are filtering through to economic activity. U.S. S&P E-mini futures were nearly flat, after the S&P 500 Index closed up 0.4 percent on Monday, just shy of a record high. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major currencies, was steady at 80.559, holding well above a nine-month low of 78.998 hit on Oct. 25. Against the Japanese currency, the dollar was slightly lower on the day at 98.57 yen. The euro was nearly flat from late U.S. levels at $1.3513, remaining above Monday's low of $1.3441, which was its lowest since Sept. 18 and well below a nearly two-year high of $1.3832 set on Oct. 25, as investors began to price in the likelihood of ECB easing action. Money markets were already pricing in the possibility of looser ECB policy in the coming year and began to show a chance of a move even in the next few months, with a few big banks expecting a cut as early as this week. A rate cut would hurt the euro's yield advantage over other currencies and make it less appealing for investors. "We expect the ECB to leave its interest rates and forward guidance unchanged at Thursday's meeting," strategists at Barclays wrote in a note to clients. "However, the latest decline in inflation has raised the likelihood that the main refinancing rate could be cut again by 25 basis points in December," they added. The ECB last lowered its refinancing rate in May, to a record low of 0.5 percent. In addition to the ECB, investors will continue to focus on U.S. data for clues on the timing of when the U.S. central bank will begin to taper its monthly purchases of $85 billion in assets. On Friday, the closely-watched October non-farm payrolls data will be released. Fed policymakers want to see the unemployment rate dropping closer to 6.5 percent from the current 7.2 percent, but economists in a Reuters survey expect the rate to have edged up in October to 7.3 percent. Ahead of the jobs report, third-quarter gross domestic product data will be published on Thursday. Those figures will help show how strong the momentum in the economy was before last month's partial government shutdown. Data on Monday showed orders for a wide range of U.S.-made capital goods fell more than expected in September, suggesting companies cut their investment plans. But other recent data indicated that factory activity accelerated in October. In commodities trading, spot gold edged up to $1,314.64 an ounce. U.S. crude also edged up slightly to $94.68, but stuck close to four-month lows touched on Monday on worries about growth in demand after a survey showed U.S. oil inventories were rising. Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions