Asian stocks fall from four-month high amid US budget talks: HONG KONG, Sept 24 — Asian stocks fell from a four-month high amid a political showdown in Washington over the US budget and as investors examined speeches from Federal Reserve officials for clues on monetary policy. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index declined 0.5 per cent to 140.61 as of 9.01am in Tokyo, before markets open in Hong Kong and China. Japan’s Topix index slid 0.8 . Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index were little changed. House Speaker John Boehner and his Republican caucus are pushing the federal government closer to a shutdown in a fight over funding and the debt limit, Democrats Max Baucus and Patty Murray said in a letter to colleagues yesterday. Investors are considering these political disagreements one week after the Fed unexpectedly maintained US$85 billion a month in bond purchases. “The increasingly ugly debate on the US fiscal position is certainly a primary concern for markets,” Angus Gluskie, chief investment officer at White Funds Management in Sydney, where he helps oversee about US$500 million, said by telephone. “Markets are comforted by the realization that the Fed is not going to rush at it. They are much more likely to go slowly at the tapering.” Three Federal Reserve regional bank presidents spoke yesterday. Fed Bank of New York President William C. Dudley said policy makers must “forcefully” push against economic headwinds as the US has yet to show “any meaningful pickup” in momentum. Bank chiefs Fed Bank of Atlanta President Dennis Lockhart said monetary policy should focus on creating a more dynamic economy. Fed Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher said the central bank harmed its credibility with the decision last week. The Asia-Pacific gauge rallied 8.5 per cent this month through yesterday amid signs China’s economic growth is stabilizing. That left the measure yesterday trading at 13.8 times estimated earnings, compared with 15.4 for the S&P 500 and 14.3 for the Stoxx Europe 600 Index, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Japan’s Topix climbed 42 per cent this year through September 20, the most among 24 developed markets tracked by Bloomberg, amid optimism Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the Bank of Japan can lead the country out of deflation through unprecedented monetary easing. Futures on the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong, where morning trading was canceled yesterday because of a typhoon, lost 0.2 per cent in their most recent trading session. Contracts on the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index also fell 0.2 per cent, while the Bloomberg China-US Equity Index of the most-traded Chinese stocks in New York added 0.4 per cent after two days of declines. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell 0.5 percent yesterday. The H-share index entered a bull market this month after rebounding more than 20 per cent from a June low, while the Hang Seng Index erased its 2013 loss. — Bloomberg dlvr.it/41Zh4n
Posted on: Tue, 24 Sep 2013 00:59:06 +0000
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