Equity markets tick down as investors wait for positive signs from US, UK and EU outcomes
People walk past an electronic board showing Japan's Nikkei average and the yen’s exchange rate against the dollar outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan. File photo: REUTERS/TORU HANAIAsian equity markets ticked down on Tuesday, tracking Wall Street losses as investors fretted over a December 15 deadline for the next round of US tariffs on Chinese imports to take effect.
Investors have focused this year on the risks of the UK crashing out of the EU without a deal and a sharp escalation in trade war tensions, said Frank Benzimra, head of equity strategy at Societe Generale. For its part, a Chinese official said on Monday Beijing hopes to make a trade deal with Washington as soon as possible before new US tariffs are due to kick in this weekend.
Investors were also keeping an eye on the US Federal Reserve, which is expected to keep rates unchanged at its two-day policy meeting, which ends on Wednesday. With rates likely to stay put, analysts say investors will be closely watching policymakers’ forecasts for future US economic growth. “Polls have been wrong before, so a surprise can’t be ruled out — that’s exactly what happened in the 2017 election,” analysts at ANZ said in a morning note.
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