People walk past an electronic board showing Japan's Nikkei average and the yen’s exchange rate against the dollar outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan. File photo: REUTERS/TORU HANAI
That put a lid on a week of gains for MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan. The benchmark fell almost 0.1%. “We could potentially see a greater chance of a move downwards based on what happens in the next 24-48 hours.”Wall Street indexes hit fresh record highs overnight, buoyed by trade deal hopes and data showing US economic growth picked up slightly in the third quarter, rather than slowing as first reported.
“Concerns the US economy may be turning down, to the point where the Fed might have to resume policy easing next year, have been somewhat assuaged,” said Ray Attrill, head of FX strategy at National Australia Bank.The dollar and trade-exposed currencies were spurned for safe havens such as the Japanese yen after Trump signed the Hong Kong bills into law.