* MSCI Asia ex-Japan -0.3%
* China blue-chips down 1.2%
* Australian shares up 0.1% ahead of RBA decision
* Asian stock markets: https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
By Andrew Galbraith
SHANGHAI, June 4 (Reuters) - Asian shares fell on Tuesday,
following a volatile Wall Street session as weak economic
indicators and an intensifying Sino-U.S. trade war inflamed
concerns about global growth, supporting safe-haven assets such
as bonds.
Investor focus has shifted to monetary policy this week with
Australia's central bank all but certain to cut interest rates
to a fresh low at its meeting on Tuesday and India also tipped
to ease on Thursday.
Comments from the Federal Reserve on Monday, meanwhile,
raised expectations the U.S. central bank is moving closer to a
rate cut, as did a closely watched U.S. factory survey.
"Unless there's a circuit breaker, and it may come in terms
of a Fed cut, or it may come in terms of more Chinese stimulus
or the European Central Bank later this week...equity prices and
bond rates are going to continue to go lower," said Greg
McKenna, strategist at McKenna Macro.
The ECB holds its next policy meeting on Thursday and is
expected to keep settings unchanged though there is growing
speculation it could shift to a more dovish footing.
Losses across Asian equity markets on Tuesday followed falls
on Wall Street overnight that saw the Nasdaq drop into
correction territory. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific
shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was down 0.3%, after
earlier rising as much as 0.18%.
The broad index was pulled lower by Chinese shares. China's
blue-chip CSI300 index .CSI300 was 1.17% lower, and the Hang
Seng .HSI lost 0.65%.
Seoul's Kospi .KS11 gave up 0.16%.
Defying the regional selloff, Australian shares .AXJO were
up 0.1% ahead of the expected interest rate cut by the Reserve
Bank of Australia, as the bank hopes to revive growth.
Japan's Nikkei .N225 gave up early gains to turn down
0.42%.
Underscoring slowdown concerns, U.S. manufacturing growth
eased in May to its weakest pace in more than two-and-a-half
years, defying expectations for a modest rebound.
Hostile rhetoric between Washington and Beijing continued,
on Monday as U.S. President Donald Trump's administration said
that China was pursuing a "blame game" in recent public
statements. Adding to broader investor worries are fears that U.S.
antitrust regulators could target Alphabet, Facebook, Apple and
Amazon. News of U.S. government plans to investigate the tech giants
dragged down tech shares on Monday, driving the Nasdaq .IXIC
1.61% lower to 7,333.02. The drop took the index more than 10%
lower than its May 3 closing record.
The S&P 500 .SPX lost 0.28% to 2,744.45 and the Dow Jones
Industrial Average .DJI eked out a 0.02% gain to 24,819.78.
BULLARD COMMENTS
U.S. Treasury yields rose slightly on Tuesday but remained
near recent lows. U.S. 10-year notes yielded 2.1021%, up from a
U.S. close of 2.081%, having touched its lowest level since
September 2017 on Monday.
The two-year yield US2YT=RR rose to 1.8837% compared with
a U.S. close of 1.84%.
The fall in the two-year yield reflects raised expectations
of a more accommodative Fed.
St. Louis Fed president James Bullard on Monday said that a
U.S. interest rate cut "may be warranted soon" given risks to
global growth posed by trade tensions and weak U.S. inflation.
Gold XAU= was down 0.11% at $1,323.27 per ounce, but still
near three-month highs, and Japan's yen strengthened, with the
dollar dropping 0.05% against the Asian safe-haven to 108.01.
JPY= GOL/
"Risk aversion has also been seen with the yen carry trade
unwinding as the markets comprehend that the U.S. technology
containment strategy towards China is unlikely to reverse,"
analysts at Jefferies said in a note.
"In the short term, positioning has become so bearish that
'a ceasefire' could spark a risk rally."
The euro EUR= was 0.11% stronger at $1.1252, while the
dollar index .DXY , which tracks the greenback against a basket
of six major rivals, was up 0.03% at 97.175.
Crude prices whipsawed, resuming their declines after a
brief bounce on mounting trade worries.
U.S. crude CLc1 was down 0.24% at $53.12 a barrel and
Brent crude LCOc1 dropped 0.42% to $61.02 per barrel.