Asian Shares ease, Taking cue from Wall Street
Asian shares eased on Wednesday following modest losses on Wall Street, but were still on track for a monthly rise as investors waited to see if upcoming job data could prod the Federal Reserve into raising interest rates as soon as September.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.1 percent as traders awaited Friday's job report, but looked set for a near 2 percent gain in August. Japan's Nikkei stock index added 0.9 percent, poised to rise 1.8 percent for the month, as it got a boost from a weaker yen after upbeat US data lifted the dollar overnight.
The dollar was steady at 102.93 yen after rising as high as 103.14 yen overnight, its strongest since July 29. It was up 0.9 percent for the month.
Data released earlier on Wednesday showed Japanese industrial output was flat in July from June, underscoring fragility in factory activity and falling short of economists' median forecast for a 0.8 percent rise.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.1 percent as traders awaited Friday's job report, but looked set for a near 2 percent gain in August. Japan's Nikkei stock index added 0.9 percent, poised to rise 1.8 percent for the month, as it got a boost from a weaker yen after upbeat US data lifted the dollar overnight. 
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