* Asian stock markets : https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
* Nikkei settles at 2019 highs as markets consolidate
* Sterling stunned after suffering sharpest fall in a year
* BofA fund manager survey shows bullish mood swing
By Wayne Cole
SYDNEY, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Asian stocks took a breather at
18-month peaks on Wednesday having climbed for five straight
sessions, while the British pound was licking its wounds as
revived Brexit fears came back to bite it.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS was dead flat in thin early trade, just off its
highest since June last year.
Japan's Nikkei .N225 dipped 0.1% and away from its 2019
top, while Korean shares .KS11 edged up 0.1% to an eight-month
peak. E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 ESc1 were little changed.
Upbeat economic news had helped the S&P 500 reach a record
for the fourth straight session, building on its 27% gain this
year. The Dow .DJI ended Tuesday up 0.19%, while the S&P 500
.SPX gained 0.07% and the Nasdaq .IXIC 0.11%. .N
U.S. housing starts were surprisingly strong in November,
and building permits rose to the highest level since May 2007.
Manufacturing output picked up more than expected as a strike at
General Motors Co GM.N ended. A run of better data recently has helped calm fears of
recession while the phase one Sino-U.S. deal on trade seems to
have lifted some of the uncertainty on the global outlook.
The sea change was clear in BofA Global Research's latest
survey of fund managers with recession concerns diving 33
percentage points to a net 68% of investors saying a recession
is now unlikely in 2020.
Global growth expectations jumped 22 percentage points,
marking the biggest 2-month rise on record. As a result, funds'
allocation to global equities climbed 10 percentage points to a
net 31% overweight, the highest level in a year.
THEN AGAIN...
Yet it might be too soon to declare an all-clear on the
political front with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson upsetting
markets by taking a hard line on Brexit talks. Johnson will use the prospect of a Brexit cliff-edge at the
end of 2020 to demand the EU give him a comprehensive free trade
deal in less than 11 months.
The threat of a hard exit sent shivers through sterling,
which slid 1.5% in its largest one-day fall this year.
The pound was last at $1.3110 GBP=D3 having shed all the
gains made on Thursday and Friday after it became clear that the
Conservative Party was heading for a big win. GBP/
"We treat the risk of a hard Brexit as a 'tail risk' at this
stage," said Joseph Capurso, a senior currency strategist at
CBA. "A UK-EU trade deal by end 2020, while difficult, is still
possible."
"In our view GBP/USD will remain supported at around
$1.3000-$1.3100 and upside contained near $1.3500 over the next
several months."
Sterling's slide gave the dollar index a lift to 97.184
.DXY against a basket of currencies, extending a bounce from
last week's five-month low of 96.588.
The euro also surged on the pound EURGBP= and was steady
on the dollar at $1.1150 EUR= . The yen was little changed at
109.52 per dollar JPY= .
Spot gold was idling at $1,475.90 per ounce XAU= , after a
couple of very quiet sessions.
Oil prices eased from three-month highs as data showed U.S.
crude stocks rose unexpectedly in the most recent week.
U.S. crude CLc1 fell 37 cents to $60.57 a barrel, while
Brent crude LCOc1 futures had yet to trade.
Asia stock markets https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
Asia-Pacific valuations https://tmsnrt.rs/2Dr2BQA
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(Editing by Sam Holmes)