- Japan's Nikkei rises in relief rally after priced-in election
- US dollar subdued as investors await tariff clarity
- Fed independence remains a worry for investors
SINGAPORE, July 22 (Reuters) - Asian share markets drifted lower after scaling a near four-year peak on Tuesday ahead of a slate of corporate earnings, while investors took stock of tariff negotiations between the U.S. and its trading partners.
The dithering mood is set to continue in Europe where the focus will be on earnings from firms including SAP (SAPG.DE), opens new tab and UniCredit (CRDI.MI), opens new tab. EUROSTOXX 50 futures and DAX futures both dipped 0.5%, while FTSE futures eased 0.3%.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS), opens new tab hit its highest level since October 2021 in early Asian hours but was last down 0.4%. The index is up nearly 16% this year.
The S&P 500 (.SPX), opens new tab and the Nasdaq (.IXIC), opens new tab notched record-high closes on Monday.
The Japanese markets returned to action after a holiday on Monday following the weekend's election where the ruling coalition suffered a defeat in upper house elections, although Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba vowed to remain in his post.
Japanese shares (.N225), opens new tab, (.TOPX), opens new tab briefly jumped at the open but reversed course to trade lower by Tuesday afternoon, as the election results were largely priced in and were not as bad as investors had feared.
The yen rallied 1% on Monday, recouping some of the losses from past weeks and was last slightly weaker at 147.73 per dollar.
Kristina Clifton, an economist at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said the weakening of Ishiba's leadership will open the door to more fiscal expansion that is negative for Japanese assets, including the yen.
"The bottom line is longer term Japanese government bond yields and JPY can fall if concerns about Japan’s fiscal spending deepen."
Investor focus has been on tariff negotiations ahead of the August 1 deadline with the European Union exploring a broader set of possible countermeasures against the United States as prospects for an acceptable agreement with Washington fade.
The most important deals for the global outlook are with the EU and Japan, CBA's Clifton said.
"The USD reaction to the announcement of trade deals with these countries would depend on the details of the deals in our view," Clifton added, noting the dollar could turn down again against the euro and the British pound.
The euro was steady at $1.1689, after rising 0.5% in the previous session but still away from the near four-year high it touched at the start of the month. The single currency is up 13% this year as investors look for alternatives to U.S. assets bruised by tariff uncertainties.
The dollar index , a measure against six other key currencies, was at 97.905.
Investors are awaiting results this week from Wall Street giants Alphabet and Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab, as well as from European heavyweights LVMH (LVMH.PA), opens new tab, and Roche (ROG.S), opens new tab, as uncertainty over tariffs clouds the outlook.
The rumblings around the Federal Reserve's independence and whether U.S. President Donald Trump will fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell have kept investors on tenterhooks in recent weeks.
Trump appeared near the point of trying to fire Powell last week, but backed off with a nod to the market disruption that would likely follow.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday the entire Federal Reserve needed to be examined as an institution and whether it had been successful, further exacerbating concerns about the independence of the U.S. central bank.
The Fed is widely expected to hold rates steady in its July meeting but might lower rates later in the year. Market focus will be squarely on Powell's speech later on Tuesday for clues about when the Fed might ease policy.
Goldman Sachs strategists expect the Fed to deliver three consecutive 25-basis-point cuts starting in September, "provided inflation expectations remain in check amidst worries about Fed independence."
In commodities, Brent crude futures fell nearly 1% to $68.56 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 1% to $66.51 per barrel.
Reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Singapore; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Jamie Freed
Source: Reuters