Gold prices rise from 2-wk low with focus on Russia-Ukraine, Jackson Hole
* Asian stock markets : https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
* Asia shares ex-Japan up 5% so far in December
* Washington insists trade deal done, China more reticent
* Sterling heading for worse week since late 2017
By Wayne Cole
SYDNEY, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Asian shares snoozed near
18-month highs on Friday as trade thinned in the run-up to
Christmas and investors seemed content to digest the chunky
gains already made so far this month.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS was a fraction firmer in early trade, having
gained 1.2% for the week so far and almost 5% for the month.
Japan's Nikkei .N225 inched up 0.1% after reaching a
14-month top earlier in the week. It was ahead by 2.5% for the
month so far. South Korea's market .KS11 added 0.25% on the
day and 5.5% for December.
E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 ESc1 held at all-time highs
having put on 1.2% for the week.
Sentiment had been bolstered after U.S. Treasury Secretary
Steven Mnuchin said the United States and China would sign their
Phase One trade pact in early January.
Mnuchin said it was completely finished and just undergoing
a technical "scrub," though Beijing has so far dodged all
details of the deal. The U.S. House of Representatives also overwhelmingly
approved a new North American deal that leaves $1.2 trillion in
annual U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade flows largely intact.
The S&P 500 hit a sixth straight record high, its longest
streak since January 2018, and the Nasdaq climbed for the
seventh session in a row. The S&P 500, Nasdaq and Dow all
notched record closing highs. .N
The Dow .DJI ended Thursday up 0.49%, while the S&P 500
.SPX gained 0.45% and the Nasdaq .IXIC 0.67%.
The market shrugged off U.S. President Donald Trump's
impeachment, as the Republican-controlled Senate is widely
expected to keep him in office. IN PERIL
It was mostly quiet in currencies, though sterling was
nursing a grudge after suffering a vicious reversal that left it
facing its worst weekly fall since late 2017 at 2.4%.
Early Friday, the pound was huddled at $1.3017 GBP=D3
having toppled from a $1.3514 peak when Prime Minister Boris
Johnson used his sweeping election victory to revive the risk of
a hard Brexit. "We see the biggest risks being to GBP/USD depreciation over
the next two weeks as Brexit preparations take place amidst the
most sluggish UK economy in 10 years," said Richard Grace, chief
currency strategist at CBA.
"GBP can fall because the trade concerns are taking place at
a time when the UK trade deficit is the widest it has been in 10
years, and the current account deficit is at a historically
large 5.0% of GDP."
Other currency pairs were little changed on the week with
the euro stuck at $1.1124 EUR= having found support around
$1.1100. The dollar idled at 109.36 yen JPY= , having spent the
entire week in a tight 10917/109.67 range.
Against a basket of currencies, the dollar had edged up 0.2%
for the week to 97.393 .DXY thanks mainly to the steep drop in
sterling.
Spot gold was flat at $1,479.00 per ounce XAU= , and up
just a fraction for the week so far.
Oil prices consolidated after reaching the highest level in
three months, buoyed by falling crude inventories and the easing
in U.S.-China trade tensions. O/R
Early Friday, U.S. crude CLc1 had eased back 11 cents to
$61.07 a barrel, while Brent crude LCOc1 futures were yet to
trade.
Asia stock markets https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
Asia-Pacific valuations https://tmsnrt.rs/2Dr2BQA
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(Editing by Stephen Coates)