* Asian stock markets : https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
* Asian shares mixed in quiet trade
* Bulls hope Fed Chairman Powell will sound dovish enough
* Dollar supported as Treasury yields edge up from lows
* Oil prices up as U.S. stockpiles fall
By Wayne Cole
SYDNEY, July 10 (Reuters) - Asian shares turned mixed on
Wednesday while rising Treasury yields lifted the dollar as
markets wondered if the world's most powerful central banker
would confirm or confound expectations for U.S. policy easing
this month.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS advanced 0.4%, after three sessions of losses.
South Korea .KS11 edged up 0.4%, but Japan's Nikkei
.N225 lagged with a loss of 0.2%. E-Mini futures for the S&P
500 ESc1 dithered either side of flat in very slow trade.
Chinese blue chips .CSI300 barely budged as data showed
inflation remained stubbornly subdued despite a spike in pork
prices. A worrying lack of inflation globally is one reason
investors are counting on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell
to sound suitably dovish when testifying to Congress on
Wednesday.
Futures 0#FF: are still fully priced for a 25-basis-point
cut at the Fed's July 30-31 meeting, but have abandoned wagers
on a half-point move. They had implied a 25% probability of an
aggressive cut before Friday's upbeat jobs report. FEDWATCH
"We still think the odds favour a 25 bps "insurance" cut,"
said Kevin Cummins, a senior U.S. economist at NatWest Markets.
"The Fed's consideration of rate cuts is not only about
growth but also about inflation, which remains well below
target, and inflation expectations, which were breaking to the
downside before the Fed signalled the likelihood of cuts."
Overnight, Atlanta Fed bank president Raphael Bostic let
nothing out of the bag by saying the central bank was debating
the risks and benefits of letting the U.S. economy run "a little
hotter." Lurking in the background, U.S. and Chinese trade officials
held "constructive" talks on trade by phone on Tuesday, White
House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said. Wall Street had been duly circumspect, with the Dow .DJI
ending Tuesday down 0.08%, while the S&P 500 .SPX added 0.12%
and the Nasdaq .IXIC 0.54%.
MORE YIELD
The cooling in U.S. rate fever has seen bonds give back just
a little of their huge rally, with yields on two-year Treasuries
US2YT=TWEB rising to 1.917% from the recent trough of 1.696%.
That in turn has helped the dollar bounce on a basket of
currencies to 97.521 .DXY from a June low of 95.843.
The dollar also firmed to 108.90 yen JPY= , while the euro
faded to $1.1204 EUR= having been as high as $1.1412 just a
couple of weeks ago.
The Mexican peso MXN= was nursing a few bruises after
sliding on Tuesday when the country's moderate Finance Minister
Carlos Urzua suddenly resigned, citing "extremism" in economic
policy. The Canadian dollar CAD= was on the defensive ahead of a
rate meeting by the Bank of Canada in case policymakers tried to
slow the currency's recent rally. CAD/
The dollar's gains took the shine off gold, which eased 0.3%
to $1,393.48 per ounce XAU= .
Oil prices were supported by Middle East tensions and news
that U.S. stockpiles fell for a fourth week in a row, easing
concerns about oversupply. O/R
Brent crude LCOc1 futures rose 59 cents to $64.75, while
U.S. crude CLc1 gained 80 cents to $58.63 a barrel.
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(Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Jacqueline Wong)