Asian shares wobble, dollar soft as traders await economic data
By Ankur Banerjee
SINGAPORE (Reuters) — Asian equities rose slightly on Tuesday, to stand just off their lowest since November 2022, while the dollar eased as traders avoided bets ahead of economic data expected to offer clues to the next steps by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Oil prices recovered some of the previous day's losses as markets worried that the Israel-Hamas war could escalate into a wider conflict in the oil-exporting region.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan reversed losses to trade 0.41% higher at 476.72, off a prior level of 472.73, the lowest since November 2022.
Down 3% for the month, the index is set for a third consecutive month in the red. Japan's Nikkei was up 0.21% after an earlier slide of as much as 1.4%.
Futures showed European stocks poised to open lower, with the Eurostoxx 50 futures down 0.10%, German DAX futures down 0.11% and FTSE futures 0.16% lower.
«The looming spectre of inflation grows even more imposing, especially considering the recent sharp ascent in oil prices,» said Dalma Capital Chief Investment Officer Gary Dugan.
«If oil prices persist at this level throughout the rest of 2023 and into 2024, this could potentially inject another bout of inflation into the global economy.»
Investor attention will be split this week between the earnings of high-profile companies, such as Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Facebook parent Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), as well as a slew of economic data ahead of the Fed's meeting from Oct. 31 to Nov. 1.
The U.S. Commerce Department will announce third-quarter gross domestic product on Thursday, while the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) report, the U.S. central bank's preferred inflation gauge, is
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