Asia Shares

Shares of Tesla jumped 12 per cent in after-hours trading after EV maker reported robust third quarter profits and surprised analysts with a prediction for a 20-30 per cent growth in sales next year

The Nikkei has had a choppy few sessions this week as investors weighed the rising geopolitical tensions against the domestic rate outlook

Geopolitics loomed large as ever with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump the subject of a second assassination attempt on Sunday according to the FB

Brent rose 51 cents to $79.53 a barrel, while U.S. crude added 50 cents to $75.33 per barrel

As well as July retail sales, there is data on industrial output and housing starts, along with several surveys on regional manufacturing and consumer sentiment

The Bank of Japan also meets Wednesday and markets imply a 70% chance it will hike rates by 10 basis points to 0.2%, with some chance it could move by 15 basis points

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slid 0.1 per cent and was headed for its worst week in over a month with a 2.4 per cent loss

Markets have now fully priced in a quarter-point rate cut from the Fed in September, with a total easing of 68 basis points expected by the end of the year

Trading was thinned in Asia with Australia, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan out for public holidays, but MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan still slumped 0.46 per cent

Late last week, partly in response to some policymakers' comments, global bonds retraced a rally that had followed an encouraging fall in US CPI data

Chinese shares see earlier gains, with bluechip stocks rising 1 per cent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index increasing 1.2 per cent

Crude oil wallowed near two-month lows amid signs of easing supply pressure and continued hopes for a Middle East ceasefire

Trading was thinned in Asia with Japan out for a holiday, though markets in mainland China got off to an upbeat start after returning from an extended break

Oil prices, however, hardly reacted to the news, as traders had largely priced in a retaliatory attack from Iran that would likely further disrupt supply chains

Markets widely expect the Fed to raise its benchmark overnight interest rate by 75 basis points (bps) to a range of 3.75% to 4.00%, the fourth such increase in a row

Japan's Nikkei edged up 0.16%, the S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.2%, while South Korean stocks added 0.1%

Asian shares rallied on Wednesday as fears of a Russian invasion of the Ukraine this week dissipated, after Moscow indicated it was returning some troops to base, thereby relieving the investors.

Geopolitics also remained a worry as the White House warned Russia could invade Ukraine any day and French President Emmanuel Macron prepared for a trip to Moscow

The Federal Reserve has indicated it is likely to raise U.S. interest rates in March, as has been widely expected

Adding to the caution was concerns about a possible Russian attack on Ukraine with the U.S. State Department pulling out family members of its embassy staff in Kyiv.