Asian shares near 8-week highs

Friday, 23 January 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

TOKYO (Reuters): Asian shares held near eight-week highs on Thursday as investors bet on the likely size and scope of a bond-buying program the European Central Bank is poised to unveil later in the day as it attempts to revive the flagging euro zone economy.

Spreadbetters expected European bourses to open a touch firmer. Britain’s FTSE was forecast to open flat, Germany’s DAX was seen rising 0.3% and France’s CAC up 0.1%. The euro was quieter ahead of the ECB decision after the previous day’s wide ranges, while the Canadian dollar stole the spotlight after plunging to a nearly six-year low following the Bank of Canada’s surprise move to slash its overnight rate to help cushion the economy from recently plunging oil prices. The loonie skidded almost 2% – its biggest one-day drop since November 2011 - to as far as $1.2420 per US dollar, and last stood at C$1.2362. Broader market sentiment was mildly positive for riskier assets, supported by the aggressive actions by central banks seeking to fight deflation. Asian equities rose, US yields were higher, and credit spreads were tighter. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.1%, staying at nearly eight-week highs. Stock markets in Australia and Malaysia outperformed the region, while Japan’s Nikkei stock average dipped 0.2%. The euro traded narrowly, between $1.1629 and $1.1589, moving away from an 11-year nadir of $1.14595 plumbed last week as the market trimmed short positions ahead of the ECB meeting. Market analysts reckoned there was limited room for the euro to fall, given how high and for how long currency traders had been preparing for the ECB to expand its asset purchase program to include sovereign bonds.