GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian stocks weaken on stimulus worries, dollar holds firm

* Asian stock markets fall across-the-board
* Dollar supported by lower risk appetite
* Fed meets on Tuesday-Wednesday but no fireworks expected
* Asian stock markets: https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4

By Alwyn Scott and Anshuman Daga
NEW YORK/SINGAPORE, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Asian stocks dipped
on Tuesday, retreating from record highs as lingering concerns
about potential roadblocks to the Biden administration's $1.9
trillion stimulus weighed on sentiment, dragging U.S. Treasury
yields to three-weeks lows.
The lower risk appetite lent some support to the dollar
against a basket of currencies, while oil prices edged down.
In a sea of red seen across Asian markets, South Korea
.KS11 and Hong Kong HSI topped losers and fell 1.7% each,
Japan .N225 slipped 0.6% and Chinese stocks .CSI300 shed
1.5%. All have touched milestone highs this month.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS dipped 0.7% to 722.7 but was not far off from a
record high struck on Monday and is still up 9% so far this
year.
Australian stock markets were closed for a national public
holiday.
E-mini futures for the S&P 500 EScv1 slipped 0.26%.
All eyes were on Washington as U.S. lawmakers agreed that
getting COVID-19 vaccines to Americans should be a priority even
as they locked horns over the size of the pandemic relief
package. "The immediate question now is when stimulus aid will be
approved and how much?" said Christopher Grisanti, chief equity
strategist at MAI Capital Management.
Financial markets have been eyeing a massive package, though
disagreements have meant months of indecision in a country
suffering more than 175,000 COVID-19 cases a day with millions
out of work.
Fourth-quarter gross domestic product data for the United
States, Germany and France due out this week may cool sentiment.
Overnight, the Nasdaq index .IXIC scaled a new peak and
added 0.7% on hopes of strong earnings later this week from
technology titans, but the Dow Jones Industrial Average index
.DJI struggled to keep pace and fell 0.12%. .N
European shares closed at two-week lows as a slump in German
business morale underscored the damage from tighter COVID-19
restrictions. .EU
U.S. policymakers are expected to keep the monetary spigot
open when the Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee
meets on Tuesday and Wednesday.
"We expect the January FOMC to repeat and reinforce the
Fed's existing dovishness, which is still significant given the
recent taper discussions and other central banks' considerations
to adapt policy," Ebrahim Rahbari, FX strategist at CitiFX, said
in a report.
"Dovish Fed policy is a key driver for our view of upside in
risk assets and bearish USD view. We therefore continue to watch
Fed-speak and potential policy changes closely," he said.
The dollar advanced to a near one-week high against a basket
of currencies, as volatility in stock markets around the globe
sapped investors' appetite for riskier currencies.
The euro slipped slightly overnight to $1.2142 and held
around those levels in Asia trade.
Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields US10YT=RR held
where they left off in New York at 1.0414%, having hit a
three-week low of 1.0300% overnight. US/
Brent crude LCOc1 fell 0.2% to $55.75, having risen nearly
1% on Monday. O/R

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