SINGAPORE, Oct 31 — Asian equities eased today, while the yen remained close to a two-week high as traders braced for the Bank of Japan’s policy decision when it is likely to lift its inflation forecasts and ponder tweaks to its bond yield control.

The yen weakened 0.19 per cent to 149.38 per dollar but was not far from the two-week peak of 148.81 it touched yesterday after the Nikkei newspaper reported the BOJ would consider making adjustments to its yield curve control (YCC).

The BOJ sets a target of around 0 per cent for the 10-year yield under YCC. Under criticism that its heavy defence of the cap is causing market distortions and an unwelcome yen fall, it raised its de-facto ceiling for the yield to 1.0 per cent from 0.5 per cent in July.

Today, the 10-year JGB yield jumped 6.5 basis points to 0.955 per cent, its highest since May.

“Markets seem to assume that the ceiling will be lifted by another 50 basis points, but I think the possibility of another doubling (i.e. to 2 per cent) in the ceiling amounting to a de facto removal is under-appreciated,” said Nicholas Chia, macro strategist at Standard Chartered.

“That said, the way foreign currency markets are behaving suggests any move today on YCC may only cap but not reverse the yen weakness,” Chia said.

The dollar index, which measures US currency against six rivals, rose 0.104 per cent. Sterling was last trading at US$1.2151 (RM5.79), down 0.14 per cent on the day, while the euro was down 0.09 per cent to US$1.0603.

Stocks dip in Asia

Stocks in Asia were slightly weaker, with MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan 0.24 per cent lower, while Japan’s Nikkei was 0.23 per cent lower.

The Shanghai Composite Index was 0.06 per cent lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.39 per cent.

Overnight, all three major US stock indexes closed up more than 1 per cent, with interest rate sensitive megacap stocks providing the most upside muscle.

Third-quarter earnings season has reached its halfway point, with 251 companies in the S&P 500 having reported. Of those, 78 per cent have beaten Wall Street estimates, according to LSEG.

Investor focus this week will mainly be on the major central bank meetings, with the US Federal Reserve and Bank of England also due to meet along with BOJ.

Today, the Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) will convene for a two-day monetary policy meeting, which is expected to culminate in a decision to let the Fed funds target rate stand at 5.25 per cent-5.50 per cent.

The Fed’s meeting comes after a slew of data showed the US economy remains resilient and comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell will be scrutinised to gauge how long the interest rates are likely to stay elevated.

“It is evident that the US economy is operating at full throttle, marked by remarkably low unemployment levels. However, this level of growth also exacerbates the spectre of inflation,” said Gary Dugan, CIO at Dalma Capital.

“While the Federal Reserve may not make any rate adjustments this week, the possibility of a rate hike in the following meeting is certainly on the table.”

The Treasury Department yesterday said it expects to borrow US$76 billion less this quarter than anticipated in the third quarter on expectations of higher revenue receipts.

The yield on 10-year Treasury notes was up 1.1 basis points to 4.888 per cent, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was up 0.7 basis points to 5.042 per cent.

US crude rose 0.45 per cent to US$82.68 per barrel and Brent was at US$88.14, up 0.79 per cent on the day.

Gold prices were flat today after slipping below the US$2,000/ounce milestone in the last session. Spot gold was steady at US$1,995.69. — Reuters