* MSCI Asia ex-Japan index slips 0.3%; dollar steadies
* Uncertainty around Brexit and stimulus keeps investors
sidelined
* Asian stock markets: https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
By Tom Westbrook and Pete Schroeder
SINGAPORE/WASHINGTON, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Asian equities
eased from a record high on Thursday as stalled U.S. stimulus
talks and a sell-off in tech stocks weighed, while sterling
traders sat on a knife's edge as last-ditch Brexit negotiations
yielded only an agreement to keep talking.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS eased 0.3%, while Japan's Nikkei .N225 fell by
the same margin. Both are up more than 60% from March lows.
U.S Treasuries rose and the dollar =USD steadied after a
volatile overnight session in currency markets, with traders now
looking ahead to a European Central Bank monetary policy
meeting. Sterling GBP= teetered at $1.3363 as it awaits a
Brexit resolution.
"We've risen so far so fast that it's making investors
cautious," said Michael McCarthy, chief strategist at
stockbroker CMC Markets in Sydney.
"The fall in tech stocks was a bit of a concern, given that
they've risen in all market weather over the last six weeks, so
to see them come off might signal that we're looking at a short
term corrective move."
A near 2% drop in the Nasdaq .IXIC on Wednesday was driven
by a 1.9% fall in Facebook FB.O shares after U.S. regulators
filed lawsuits alleging the company used its dominance to buy or
crush rivals, harming competition. Meanwhile, breakthroughs were elusive in long-running U.S.
pandemic relief negotiations and talks between British and
European Union leaders over trade arrangements post Brexit.
U.S. lawmakers approved a stopgap government funding bill on
Wednesday, but were unable to sort out disagreements over aid to
state and local governments that are holding up a broader
spending package. Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the
European Union's chief executive gave themselves until the end
of the weekend to seal a new trade pact The estranged allies remain far apart over issues from
fisheries to dispute resolution. Some $1 trillion in annual
trade is at risk of facing tariffs and quotas if a deal cannot
be reached before transition arrangements end on Dec. 31.
British and European futures slipped marginally in Asia,
with FTSE futures FFIc1 and EuroSTOXX 50 futures STXEc1 down
0.1%. S&P 500 futures rose 0.1%.
ECB AHEAD
Later on Thursday the European Central Bank is expected to
unveil more bond buying and cheap loans to prop up the
recession-hit currency bloc long enough for a coronavirus
vaccine to be deployed. Traders are also looking for what, if anything, the bank
will do or say about a common currency that has surged nearly
14% from its March lows - hindering Europe's exporters.
"We do not think there will be an explicit talking down of
the euro, but expect ECB Chief (Christine) Lagarde to mention
the central bank is keenly monitoring the currency strength,"
analysts at Singapore's OCBC Bank said in a note.
Elsewhere, faith in the recovery appears to be holding up,
with oil prices steady despite a build-up in U.S. inventories.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 last sat 0.5% firmer at $49.09 a
barrel and U.S. crude CLc1 was up 0.6% at $45.79 a barrel.
O/R
Gold XAU= nursed losses at $1,840 an ounce. GOL/
Treasuries traded firmly owing to uncertainty around U.S.
stimulus wrangling, and the yield on benchmark U.S. ten-year
Treasuries US10YT=RR fell 1.7 basis points to 0.9245%. US/
"The uncertainty around the timing is less important than
the uncertainty around the overall size of the package, which
depends primarily on the outcome of the Senate runoffs in
Georgia on January 5," Goldman Sachs analysts said in a note.
"For now, our assumption is a $700 billion COVID relief
package," they said, adding it would would be upgraded to
between $1 trillion and $1.5 trillion if Democrats win the two
seats.
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Global assets http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl
Global currencies vs. dollar http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
Emerging markets http://tmsnrt.rs/2ihRugV
MSCI All Country Wolrd Index Market Cap http://tmsnrt.rs/2EmTD6j
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