* Asian stock markets: https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
* Sentiment positive but markets lack momentum
* Pound hurt by renewed worries of a hard Brexit
* Oil eases but downside seen limited on output cuts
By Stanley White
TOKYO, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Asian shares pulled back from a
one-and-a-half year peak on Thursday as investors took some
money off the table ahead of holiday trade and looked to fresh
data on the state of the global economy.
Investors were also watching proceedings in Washington where
the Democrat-led U.S. House of Representatives voted to impeach
Republican U.S. President Donald Trump for abuse of power and
obstruction of Congress.
Market reaction, however, has so far been limited as the
Republican-controlled Senate is widely expected not to vote to
remove Trump from office. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS briefly touched the highest since June 2018 but
then fell 0.4%.
Australian shares .AXJO erased early gains to trade 0.27%
lower due to declines in the mining sector, while Chinese shares
.CSI300 fell 0.32%.
The pan-region Euro Stoxx 50 futures STXEc1 were down
0.05%, German DAX futures FDXc1 were down 0.12%, but FTSE
futures FFIc1 edged up 0.02%.
The pound nursed heavy losses on concerns Britain could
still crash out of the European Union without a trade deal in
place after a transition period ending in December 2020.
Traders also await a Bank of England (BoE) policy meeting
later Thursday. No change in policy is expected, but the meeting
could pose further downside risks for sterling if more
policymakers swing to the dovish camp and vote for an interest
rate cut.
Overall sentiment was supportive of equities and riskier
assets, but less favourable for safe-haven assets like bonds due
to expectations that economic growth will start to pick up next
year after a tumultuous 2019.
"Data has been generally supportive of an improvement in
economic performance," said Shane Oliver, head of investment
strategy and chief economist at AMP Capital Investors in Sydney.
"Investors can look forward to stronger growth next year,
but a lot of this has already been reflected in share markets."
U.S. stock futures ESc1 edged 0.04% lower on the day. The
S&P 500 .SPX fell 0.04% on Wednesday, weighed by a steep drop
in FedEx Corp FDX.N shares after the U.S. parcel delivery
company cut its fiscal 2020 profit forecast. At one stage in the previous session, the S&P 500 scored its
fifth consecutive record high, and analysts said market
sentiment remained largely upbeat following last week's
announcement of an initial U.S.-China trade agreement.
Other analysts pointed to recent data releases showing
economic improvements in China, the United States and Germany as
reasons to be more optimistic.
In the currency market, sterling GBP=D3 traded at $1.3086,
having tumbled more than 3% from an 18-month high struck on Dec.
13 after UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative Party
scored a landslide victory in a general election.
Against the euro, the pound EURGBP=D3 stood at 85.06
pence, close to its weakest since Dec. 4.
Johnson's government on Tuesday ruled out an extension to
the December 2020 deadline for negotiations on a trade deal with
the EU, creating a new Brexit cliff-edge and cutting short
sterling's post-election rally. The focus shifts to the BoE's policy meeting later Thursday.
At its previous meeting, two of the central bank's nine
policymakers voted to cut interest rates.
British inflation remained mired at a three-year low in
November, data showed on Wednesday, and uncertainty surrounding
Brexit remains high, but this is unlikely to shift expectations
that monetary policy will remain on hold. The Australian dollar jumped by 0.36% to $0.6879 after
better-than-expected data on the labour market dented
expectations for interest rate cuts. The yen JPY=EBS held steady at 109.58 per dollar after the
Bank of Japan kept its quantitative easing in place and issued a
gloomier assessment on factory output. Brent crude LCOc1 rose 0.03% to $66.20 per barrel, but
U.S. crude CLc1 dipped 0.03% to $60.91 a barrel after U.S.
government data showed a decline in crude inventories. EIA/S
Prices are likely to be supported due to production cuts
coming from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries and its allies, including Russia.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Pound https://tmsnrt.rs/38Qqugc
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
(Editing by Sam Holmes & Shri Navaratnam)