Asia stocks edge up on tech shares

Wednesday, 14 March 2018 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Tokyo (Reuters): Asian stocks edged up on Tuesday with technology shares buoyed by gains in their Wall Street peers, but gains were limited ahead of US inflation data later in the day which could offer clues on the pace of interest rate rises this year.

Spreadbetters expected a slightly lower start for European stocks, with Britain’s FTSE dipping 0.1%, Germany’s DAX inching down 0.05% and France’s CAC shedding 0.07%.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.2% after spending much of the day swerving in and out of negative territory.

The index had surged 1.5% on Monday following firm US jobs numbers on Friday, while low wage growth eased concerns about inflation and faster central bank rate hikes.

But a mixed performance by US shares overnight tempered the rally.

The S&P 500 and the Dow slipped on Monday as the US tariffs signed into law last week weighed on industrials, while a rise in tech stocks boosted the Nasdaq to a new record high.

Japan’s Nikkei recouped earlier losses and rose 0.7%, with gains in chip-related technology shares helping offset losses in steelmakers and automakers still weighed by concerns about US tariffs on imported steel and aluminium.

Shanghai dipped 0.1%.

Tech-heavy South Korean and Taiwan shares advanced 0.15% and 0.85%, respectively.

Separately, US President Donald Trump on Monday blocked Singapore-based semiconductor maker Broadcom Ltd’s takeover bid of Qualcomm Inc on grounds of national security, ending what would have been the technology industry’s biggest deal ever.

The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies rose 0.1% to 89.999 after shedding about 0.2% overnight.

The euro was little changed at $ 1.2329 after gaining 0.25% overnight.

The US currency was up 0.3% at 106.740 yen, trimming some losses after a suspected cover-up of a cronyism scandal put Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe and his close ally, Finance Minister Taro Aso, under fresh pressure. The benchmark 10-year US Treasury note yield stood little changed at 2.879%. The yield declined by 2.5 basis points overnight.