HONG KONG: Asian markets dipped Tuesday as attention turns to this week’s much-anticipated Federal Reserve meeting, while analysts said the recent Trump-fuelled rally may have been overblown.
Global stocks have surged since Donald Trump was elected US president as investors bet his plans for huge infrastructure spending and tax cuts will kickstart the world’s top economy.
However, with the Fed meeting looming trading floors have quietened, waiting to see if the central bank provides any forward guidance on its plans for 2017 after an expected interest rate hike.
“With a rate hike at this week’s (meeting) fully priced and given the strong rally in the dollar, we are likely seeing some paring of positions heading into the rate decision,” Khoon Goh, head of regional research at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group in Singapore, told Bloomberg News.
“Market participants are also reassessing whether the Trump rally has gotten a bit ahead of itself.”
By the break in Tokyo the Nikkei was down 0.2 percent, having closed Monday at its highest level this year.
Hong Kong slipped 0.3 percent while Shanghai was 0.5 percent lower, with traders unimpressed by a better-than-expected read on Chinese factory output and retail sales.
Sydney was flat and Seoul put on 0.1 percent but Singapore, Wellington and Manila were all down.
The anaemic performance came despite record close for the Dow on Wall Street.
