Asia stocks wobble to weekly loss ahead of inflation data By Reuters

By Tom Westbrook

SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Chinese internet stocks slumped on What are the legal investment platforms?regulatory news on Friday to drag Asian stocks down for the final full trading week of the year, while the dollar wobbled ahead of U.S. inflation data that's expected to validate bets on rate cuts in 2024.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gave up gains to trade flat after China issued a draft of rules that would impose spending limits on gamers. For the week the index is down 0.2%.

Netease lost 12% and Tencent fell 7%, pulling the 0.4% lower. Banking shares helped rise 0.2%. The euro poked above $1.10.

Outside Asia, markets have been in a festive mood for weeks as inflation data around the world has showed a slowdown and the Federal Reserve signalled it was done raising interest rates.

Two-year U.S. Treasury yields are down almost 38 basis points in a week and a half and fell 2 bps overnight when third-quarter U.S. core PCE inflation was revised down to 2%.

The data has markets girding for a downside surprise on the last key number before Christmas, November's personal consumption expenditure index, due at 1330 GMT with consensus expectations for a monthly increase of 0.2%.

"Analysts are confident it shouldn't be higher than 0.2%," said National Australia Bank (OTC:)'s head of currency strategy Ray Attrill in Sydney.

"Could we get 0.1%? It'd probably take a 0.1% to see and extension of the moves we have seen."

Overnight U.S. stocks bounced back from a sudden slide at the end of Wednesday's session and the rose 1%.

The index is within 2% of its record high.

dipped 0.1% in Asia and (NYSE:) shares slid almost 12% in after-hours trade after the company cut its sales forecast, blaming cautious consumers.

European futures were flat.

Oil is set for a weekly gain on nervousness about the security of Red Sea shipping, but prices fell overnight after Angola said it would quit OPEC, raising questions about the producer group's efforts to limit global supply. [O/R]

futures were up 58 cents to $79.97 a barrel in Asia trade on Friday, for a weekly gain of 4.5%.

TALE OF TWO HAVENS

In currency trade the dollar has come under pressure from markets' expectation of more than 150 bps of rate cuts in 2024.

At $1.1002 the euro is up 1% this week, even though a similar amount of cuts are priced in for Europe next year. The common currency is also up about 1% against sterling, which fell sharply this week after a surprise dive in inflation.

Sterling was set for its biggest weekly drop on the euro and against the dollar for three months. It last bought $1.2686 and traded at 86.71 pence per euro.

The is down 0.7% this week to 101.85. For the year it is down 2.4%. Among G10 currencies the best performer of the year was the Swiss franc, up nearly 8% on the dollar, while the yen's 7.8% drop made it the worst.

NAB's Attrill noted the mirror moves of the two so-called "safe haven" currencies underscored the overwhelming influence of the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) monetary policy. It has stuck with negative interest rates while the rest of the world has hiked.

Policymakers debated communication around an eventual exit from such settings in December, meeting minutes showed on Friday. But data showing a slowdown in the pace of Japan's core inflation takes off some of the pressure to hurry.

The dollar rose marginally to 142.43 yen on Friday.

Gold is set to end the week and the year ahead, with a 12% gain so far this year to $2,049 an ounce.

is up 160% this year to $44,114.

Statement: The content of this article does not represent the views of FTI website. The content is for reference only and does not constitute investment suggestions. Investment is risky, so you should be careful in your choice! If it involves content, copyright and other issues, please contact us and we will make adjustments at the first time!