GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian stocks set to gain after Wall Street's tech bounce

By Suzanne Barlyn
NEW YORK, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Asian stocks were set to open
higher on Wednesday after tech-fueled Wall Street gains although
focus is shifting to renewed U.S.-Sino tensions, which could
weigh on investor sentiment.
In currency markets, a rising greenback could hold back
regional currencies like the Australian and New Zealand dollars
during Asian hours.
The dollar index =USD rose 0.441%, with the euro EUR=
down 0.01% to $1.1705 after Chicago Federal Reserve President on
Tuesday mentioned the prospect of raising interest rates.
"The U.S. dollar move will probably be the dominant move for
other currencies," said Commonwealth Bank of Australia currency
analyst Kim Mundy.
Wall Street stocks rebounded on Tuesday, led by a 5.7% jump
in Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O after Bernstein upgraded the stock to
"outperform" on an expected boost from premium subscribers and
third-party merchants even once the pandemic is contained.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 0.52%, the S&P
500 .SPX gained 1.05% and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added
1.71%.
U.S. stocks had tumbled this month as investors dumped
heavyweight technology-related stocks following a stunning
rally, which lifted the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq to new highs.
Microsoft Corp MSFT.O , Apple Inc AAPL.O , Alphabet Inc
GOOGL.O and Facebook Inc FB.O , which had carried the brunt
of recent declines, all rose more than 1% on Tuesday.
In Asia, Japan's markets reopen on Wednesday after a two-day
public holiday, which could trigger some volatility.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand also announces its monetary
policy decision, although analysts expect the official cash rate
to remain unchanged at 0.25%.
Australian S&P/ASX 200 futures YAPcm1 rose 1.04% in early
trading while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index futures .HSI HSIc1
lost 0.22%.
Japan's Nikkei 225 futures NKc1 were down 0.02% and E-mini
futures for the S&P 500 EScv1 were flat.
The Japanese yen weakened 0.06% versus the greenback at
104.98 per dollar, while Sterling GBP= was last trading at
$1.2734, up 0.02% on the day.
Emerging market stocks lost 0.69%. MSCI's broadest index of
Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS closed 1.01%
lower.
Sterling GBP= last traded at $1.2734, up 0.02% on the day
after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told Britons to go
back to working from home, along with new curbs on pubs, bars
and restaurants that he said could be in place for as long as
six months without some form of vaccine. Investors will continue to keep a close eye on China
tensions.
U.S. President Donald Trump told the United Nations General
Assembly on Tuesday that China must be held accountable for
having "unleashed" COVID-19 on the world, prompting Beijing to
accuse him of "lies" and abusing the U.N. platform to provoke
confrontation. China's President Xi Jinping struck a conciliatory tone in
his pre-recorded virtual address to the General Assembly,
calling for enhanced cooperation over the pandemic and stressing
that China had no intention of fighting "either a Cold War or a
hot war with any country."
Xi also announced plans to boost his country's Paris climate
accord target on Tuesday and called for a green revolution, just
minutes after Trump, who has pared hundreds of environmental
regulations, blasted China for "rampant pollution." In commodities, U.S. crude CLc1 fell 0.3% to $39.65 per
barrel and Brent LCOc1 was at $41.80, up 0.87% on the day.
Spot gold XAU= dropped 0.1% to $1,898.10 an ounce.

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