Asia stocks meander, yen fragile ahead of US inflation data
By Ankur Banerjee
SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Asian shares edged higher on Tuesday ahead of a crucial U.S. inflation report that could heavily influence the Federal Reserve's policy outlook, while the fragile yen flirted with 33-year lows, putting it back in the intervention zone.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 0.23% higher, on course for its second straight day of gains.
The Japanese yen was at 151.71 per dollar in Asian hours, having touched a one-year low of 151.92 on Monday. If the battered currency breaks below last year's trough of 151.94, it would mark a fresh 33-year low. [FRX/]
Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said on Tuesday that the government would take all the necessary steps to respond to currency moves, repeating his usual mantra that excessive swings were undesirable.
European shares are also expected to remain listless, with Eurostoxx 50 futures down 0.05%, German DAX futures down 0.01% and FTSE futures 0.15% lower.
Investors are waiting for the U.S. inflation report, due later in the day, after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and other policymakers said they are still not sure that interest rates are high enough to tame inflation.
Economists polled by Reuters expect headline U.S. consumer price inflation to have slowed to 3.3% in October from 3.7% in September, with the so-called core inflation rate that strips out volatile components unchanged at 4.1%.
«This data holds significant sway over the Federal Reserve's future policy direction,» said Anderson Alves, a trader with ActivTrades.
«A miss, especially in the less volatile core inflation component, might lead traders to believe the Fed could refrain from further hikes. Conversely, a beat could prompt a noticeable
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