Asia stocks step back from decade high

Tokyo (Reuters): Asian stocks inched down from 10-year highs on Thursday following a burst of Chinese data which was largely weaker than markets expected, while the dollar held steady ahead of US inflation data due later in the day.

Spreadbetters expected European stocks to start slightly higher to a touch lower, forecasting Britain’s FTSE to open up 0.1% and Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC to each open 0.15% lower.

China’s fixed-asset investment, factory output and retail sales all grew less than expected, reinforcing views that the world’s second-largest economy is gradually beginning to lose steam in the face of rising borrowing costs.

That took some of the shine off China’s surprisingly robust growth in the first half of the year, which has helped fuel stronger global demand, particularly for commodities, but analysts do not see a risk of a sharp slowdown in its economic momentum.

The Australian dollar, often used as a liquid proxy of China-linked trades, pared gains after the China readings but was still up 0.25% at $ 0.8007 after a much stronger-than-expected jobs report.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged down 0.1% after rising to its highest since 2007 the day before. China stocks dipped into the red after the data, giving up modest early gains.

Japan’s Nikkei eased 0.2%, while the broader TOPIX briefly brushed a two-year high as the yen weakened. Reaction to reports of North Korean threats to “sink” Japan were so far limited.

Australian shares lost 0.1% while South Korea’s KOSPI was flat.

Wall Street edged up to a record high on Wednesday, with gains in consumer discretionary and energy stocks helping offset losses in technology heavyweight Apple Inc.

The dollar stood tall, lifted as US Treasury yields climbed to 2-1/2-week highs on an ongoing improvement in broader investor risk sentiment.

But trading was subdued as traders awaited U.S. consumer inflation data later in the day to see if it will change the perception of subdued inflation and slow credit tightening in the United States.

Expectations that the Federal Reserve will hike rates again in 2017 have waned as price pressures remain stubbornly weak.

The dollar index, a measured against a basket of six major currencies, was at 92.472 after touching 92.530 overnight, its highest since 5 September.

It had slumped to a 2-1/2-year low of 91.011 on Friday, when Hurricane Irma threatened the continental United States and on North Korea concerns.The dollar set a one-month high of 110.735 yen before drifting to 110.460. So far this week it has gained 2.5% against its Japanese peer, a currency often sought in times of risk aversion.

The euro was down 0.1% at $ 1.1874 after losing 0.7% the previous day, while sterling was flat at $ 1.3204.

The pound hit a one-year high of $ 1.3329 on Wednesday following strong domestic inflation data, with the currency market braced for the closely-watched Bank of England (BoE)policy meeting due later on Thursday.

The BoE must decide on Thursday how forcefully to phrase the prospects of a first interest rate rise in a decade when it weighs up the need to help Britain’s Brexit-bound economy against tackling a jump in inflation.