* Asian stock markets : https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
* Major stock indices mostly flat in early Asia
* No clarity on Sino-U.S. trade as Trump flies to Japan
* Market pares bets for half-point Fed rate cut in July
By Wayne Cole
SYDNEY, June 27 (Reuters) - Asian markets were busy going
nowhere on Thursday as confusion shrouded the chances of any
progress in the Sino-U.S. trade standoff, while bulls scaled
back wagers for a drastic cut in U.S. interest rates.
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that a trade deal
with Chinese President Xi Jinping was possible this weekend but
warned he was prepared to impose U.S. tariffs on virtually all
remaining Chinese imports if talks fail. Trump also raised the possibility that he may impose a
lower, 10% duty on a $300 billion list of Chinese imports,
instead of the proposed 25% rate.
Enroute to the G20 meeting in Japan on Air Force One, Trump
later tweeted he was "off to save the Free World!"
"The best that can be hoped for is a ceasefire that avoids
incremental tariffs and helps set the stage for further talks,
and this isn't a scenario that equities should necessarily be
celebrating," said analysts at JPMorgan in a note.
Investors were clearly on the sidelines with MSCI's broadest
index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS
dipping 0.01% in very light trade.
Japan's Nikkei .N225 added 0.3%, helped by a pullback in
the yen, while Australian stocks .AXJO eased 0.4%. E-Mini
futures for the S&P 500 ESc1 were 0.03% firmer.
Wall Street had been equally circumspect, with the Dow
.DJI ending Wednesday down 0.04%, while the S&P 500 .SPX
lost 0.12% and the Nasdaq .IXIC rose 0.32%.
LESS THAN 50
Trump had also weighed into U.S. monetary policy on
Wednesday, accusing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell of
doing a "bad job" and "out to prove how tough he is" by not
cutting interest rates. Markets are convinced the Fed will indeed ease at its next
meeting in July, but had to scale back bets on a half-point cut
following cautious comments from various policy makers.
Futures FEDWATCH are 100% priced for a cut of 25 basis
points, and imply a 22% chance of 50 basis points.
Treasury yields edged up in response, though the two-year
US2YT=TWEB is only just above 19-month lows at 1.77%.
That in turn eased the selling pressure on the U.S. dollar,
which inched up to 96.175 .DXY on a basket of currencies from
a three-month trough of 95.843.
The dollar bounced modestly on the yen to 107.76 JPY= and
away from a low of 106.77. The euro likewise eased back to
$1.1371 EUR= from a top of $1.1412.
The dollar's gains took a little of the shine off gold,
which broke a six-session winning stretch and eased to $1,410.12
per ounce XAU= .
Oil prices ran into profit-taking in early Asia, having
gained overnight on a larger-than-expected drawdown in crude
stocks as exports hit a record high and surprise falls in
refined product stockpiles. O/R
Brent crude LCOc1 futures eased 54 cents to $65.95, while
U.S. crude CLc1 lost 48 cents to $58.84 a barrel.
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Asia stock markets https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
Asia-Pacific valuations https://tmsnrt.rs/2Dr2BQA
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(Editing by Sam Holmes)