Asian markets on edge awaiting key US economic indicators

March 14, 2024 (MLN): Asian markets were mixed Thursday after a tepid day on Wall Street, with traders looking forward to a string of US data that could help sway Federal Reserve officials ahead of their policy meeting next week, as APP reported.

While a hot consumer price index reading earlier this week did not rock optimism that interest rates will come down this year, analysts warned that could be tested if the producer prices index (PPI) comes in above forecast later in the day.

However, they also said equities could be range-bound until the Fed's gathering is over.

Decision-makers are widely expected to stand pat again but their post-meeting statement and fresh outlook for rates will be pored over, with dealers seeing three reductions this year, in line with the Fed's current forecasts.

"The PPI data typically doesn't spark significant market movements," said Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management.

"Still, given traders' ongoing concerns about pipeline inflation, another hotter-than-expected print could lead to minor turbulence."

Thursday will also see Washington release retail sales, jobless claims and consumer sentiment figures.

A pull-back in tech giants including Nvidia, Apple and Tesla helped pull down the S&P 500 and Nasdaq in New York, though the Dow ended slightly higher.

That came after Paris and Frankfurt set new records earlier in the day.

Asian traders also moved cautiously.

Hong Kong resumed its recent rally after Wednesday's dip, while Shanghai saw much-needed gains, as did Singapore, Seoul, Taipei and Manila.

But Tokyo retreated again on building speculation the Bank of Japan will next week begin moving away from its ultra-loose monetary policy.

Sydney, Wellington and Jakarta were also down.

Investors are keeping tabs on China-US tensions after the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a bill that would force TikTok's Chinese ByteDance owner to divest from the company or see the platform be banned in the United States.

China warned the decision will "inevitably come back to bite the United States".

Bitcoin was hovering just below $73,000 after hitting a new record high of $73,664 Wednesday.

Oil ticked higher, having rallied more than two percent in reaction to falling US stockpiles and news that Ukraine had hit Russian refineries.

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