Asian share markets got off to a subdued start on Wednesday after a mixed finish on Wall Street, while a frazzled pound awaited its fate ahead of yet another make-or-break parliamentary vote on Brexit.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.1 per cent in slow trade. Japan’s Nikkei dipped 0.3 per cent and Australia’s main index slipped 0.4 per cent.
E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 were off 0.08 per cent.
Risk appetite had been dampened after British lawmakers crushed Prime Minister Theresa May’s European Union divorce deal, forcing parliament to decide within days whether to back a no-deal Brexit or seek a last-minute delay.
Lawmakers voted against May’s amended Brexit deal by 391 to 242 as her last-minute talks with EU chiefs on Monday to assuage her critics’ concerns ultimately proved fruitless.
Parliament will vote later Wednesday on whether to leave the EU with no deal, and if that fails, a further vote on Thursday will decide whether to extend the Brexit deadline.
“The vote today seems certain to go against the government as well,” said David de Garis, a director of economics and market at National Australia Bank.
“Assuming the Thursday vote finds a majority in favour of an extension – as we expect – it will likely be of some comfort to sterling,” he added. “It’s still a fast moving environment, with political pressure at understandably extreme levels.”
The pound could do with some comfort after a wild couple of sessions. It was last at $1.3063, having been as high as $1.3296 and as low as $1.3017 so far this week.
U.S. INFLATION SLOWS
On Wall Street, Boeing Co shed another 6.1 per cent for its biggest two-day drop since June 2009, as more countries grounded the company’s best-selling 737 MAX planes following Sunday’s crash in Ethiopia, the second fatal crash in months.
The drop in Boeing pushed the Dow down 0.38 per cent, even as the S&P 500 gained 0.30 per cent and the Nasdaq added 0.44 per cent.
A soft U.S. inflation report for February burnished bonds while tarnishing the dollar. Annual consumer price inflation slowed to its lowest since September 2016 at 1.5 per cent.
The data merely reinforced expectations the Federal Reserve will stay patient on rates and could even sound more dovish at its policy meeting next week.
Yields on U.S. 10-year notes duly declined to a 10-week low at 2.596 per cent, while the dollar fell for a third straight session against a basket of currencies to stand at 96.986.
The dollar was flat on the yen at 111.30, while the euro climbed to $1.1289 and away from last week’s 20-month trough of $1.1174.
In commodity markets, the dip in the dollar supported gold at $1,301.91 per ounce.
Oil prices edged up on tightening global supply after a Saudi official said the kingdom plans to cut oil exports in April, while the U.S. government reduced its forecast for domestic crude output growth.
U.S. crude was last up 29 cents at $57.16 a barrel, while Brent crude futures had yet to trade at $66.67.