Asian shares were steady on Thursday as Wall Street eked out modest gains after the latest batch of US data provided few clues on when the Federal Reserve might raise rates, while a resurgent yen pressured equity markets in Japan.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was flat in early trading. Japan's Nikkei skidded 1.3 percent, after the dollar sunk to a two-week low against the yen overnight following Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's official announcement late on Wednesday of his widely expected decision to delay a sales tax increase.
"There were suggestions that markets were disappointed that PM Abe only announced the widely expected postponement of the sales tax increase and nothing specific on near term fiscal stimulus," Sean Callow, senior currency strategist at Westpac, said in a note on Thursday.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was flat in early trading. Japan's Nikkei skidded 1.3 percent, after the dollar sunk to a two-week low against the yen overnight following Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's official announcement late on Wednesday of his widely expected decision to delay a sales tax increase.
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