Monday, June 11, 2018
Asia stocks shook off initial modest losses and edged up on Monday ahead of a U.S.-North Korea summit that might ease regional tensions, while investors also started to focus on key central bank meetings later this week. Stocks dipped after U.S. President Donald Trump backed out of a joint Group of Seven communique over the weekend, in a blow to the group’s efforts to show a united front.
The Federal Reserve holds a two-day meeting starting on June 12, and it is widely expected to raise interest rates for the second time this year. The focus is on whether the central bank will hint at raising rates a total of four times in 2018. The European Central Bank meets on June 14, when it could signal intentions to start unwinding its massive bond purchasing program.
The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies was 0.15 percent lower at 93.410. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) set the Yuan reference rate at 6.4064 vs previous day’s fix of 6.4003.
Oil prices were mixed, caught between the downward pull of rising Russian production and U.S. oil drilling activity, and upward pressure from strong demand. Brent crude futures were up 0.1 percent at $76.55 a barrel. U.S. crude futures slipped 0.15 percent to $65.66 a barrel.
