Asia shares wobble, traders on guard as Japanese inflation tops forecast
By Tom Westbrook
SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Asian shares slipped on Tuesday, with slightly warmer-than-expected Japanese inflation putting investors on guard ahead of price data due in Europe and the U.S. this week, though bitcoin extended gains on signs that institutional buyers are circling.
The yen steadied at 150.50 to the dollar and inched off a three-month low on the euro as Japanese inflation stayed at the central bank's 2% year-on-year target, keeping alive expectations it would exit negative rates by April.
Tokyo's Nikkei eked a fresh record high, but closed just 0.01% firmer. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dipped 0.2%, keeping below last week's seven-month peak. (T)
Brent crude futures hovered around $82.63 a barrel after Reuters reported Hamas received a draft Gaza truce proposal including a 40-day pause in fighting.
S&P 500 nudged 0.1% lower while Nasdaq futures, FTSE futures and European futures each fell about 0.2%.
The Federal Reserve's favoured measure of inflation — the core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index — is due on Thursday and forecasts are for a rise of 0.4%.
«If as expected, the core m/m reading would be the highest since last February and fit with the patience message from the Fed,» said analysts at ANZ Bank.
Rate jitters and enormous auctions — $127 billion on Tuesday and another $42 billion on Wednesday — left Treasuries under pressure, though yields steadied in the Asia day. [US/]
Ten-year U.S. Treasury yields were last 1.4 basis points lower at 4.29%. Two-year yields fell 3 bps to 4.71%.
Markets have already pushed out the likely timing of a first Federal Reserve easing from May to June, which is currently priced at around a 70% probability. Futures
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