Asian stocks hold on to gains; BoE in focus
Asian stocks took a breather on Thursday, hovering near their highest in two years as traders waited for more U.S. policy clues, while sterling was steady before a Bank of England meeting where rates are expected to remain unchanged.
Apart from the BoE, investors will also watch out for central bank decisions from Switzerland and Norway on Thursday to set the tone for global rates outlook.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was little changed at 572.97, just shy of the two year high of 573.38 it touched on Wednesday boosted by tech stocks. The index is on course for a 4% rise in June.
Japan's Nikkei fell 0.63%, while stocks in China were also lower, with the blue-chip index down 0.34%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index 0.14% lower.
China left benchmark lending rates unchanged at a monthly fixing on Thursday, in line with market expectations, despite recent showing the economy remains wobbly.
The onshore yuan weakened past 7.26 per dollar for the first time since November.
The pound was steady at $1.2717 ahead of BoE policy decision and is down 0.2% in June. [FRX/]
Data on Wednesday showed British inflation returned to its 2% target for the first time in nearly three years in May, but strong underlying price pressures all but rule out an interest rate cut ahead of election next month.
Most economists in a Reuters poll last week thought the central bank would start to cut rates in August, but markets see only a 30% chance of an August rate cut and think a first move is more likely in
