* MSCI Asia Ex-Japan -1.32%; Nikkei -0.74%
* U.S. Fed officials call for more fiscal support
* Gold near two-month lows on strong greenback
By Andrew Galbraith and Imani Moise
SHANGHAI/NEW YORK, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Asian shares fell on
Thursday following a slump on Wall Street overnight, as a series
of warnings from U.S. Federal Reserve officials underscored
investor worries over the resilience of the economic recovery.
U.S. Federal Reserve Vice Chair Richard Clarida said on
Wednesday that the U.S. economy remains in a "deep hole" of
joblessness and weak demand, and called for more fiscal
stimulus, noting that policymakers "are not even going to begin
thinking" about raising interest rates until inflation hits 2%.
Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Loretta Mester
echoed Clarida, saying that the U.S. remains in a "deep hole,
regardless of the comeback we've seen." MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS tumbled 1.35% in the morning session on broad
losses across the region.
Chinese blue-chips .CSI300 dropped 1.09%, Hong Kong's Hang
Seng .HSI fell 1.72%, Seoul's KOSPI .KS11 sank 1.73% and
Australian shares .AXJO were 1.18% lower.
Japan's Nikkei .N225 fell 0.74%.
"Have we overpriced the rebound in the economy? After the
stern warning from Clarida, I say we have," said Stephen Innes,
chief global markets strategist at AXI.
"I think the market was interpreting a bounce from the
bottom as a cyclical recovery, but I don't think we're there
yet. I still think there's a lot of blood on the street,
especially on Main Street."
U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday after data showed business
activity slowed in September, with gains at factories more than
offset by a retreat at services industries. Investors now await weekly data due later on Thursday, which
is expected to show U.S. jobless claims fell slightly but
remained elevated, indicating the world's largest economy is far
from recovering.
While Clarida and other Fed officials have called for more
fiscal assistance in boosting the economy, analysts say
immediate support is unlikely with the U.S. Congress locked in a
stalemate.
Additionally, a second wave of coronavirus infections in
Europe threatened the economic recovery in that region pushing
equities lower and propping up the safe-haven dollar.
On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell
1.92%, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 2.37% and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC dropped 3.02%.
In the currency market, the dollar eased from two-month
highs touched on Wednesday. The dollar index, which measures the
greenback against a basket of peers =USD , was a touch lower at
94.348, but edged up against the yen JPY= to 105.41.
The euro EUR= ticked up to buy $1.1664.
"A stronger USD remains a significant headwind for commodity
markets, with investor appetite waning," ANZ analysts said in a
note.
Spot gold XAU= , which hit a two-month low early in the
Asian day on the stronger greenback, was flat at $1,863.61 per
ounce by mid-morning in Asia.
Oil prices fell amid uncertainty about demand due to
pandemic-related travel restrictions.
Brent crude LCOc1 dropped 0.89% to $41.40 a barrel and
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 was 1.15% lower at
$39.48 a barrel.
U.S. Treasury yields were little changed, with the 10-year
US10YT=RR yielding 0.6757% from 0.676% on Wednesday, and the
30-year yield US30YT=RR at 1.4168% from 1.425%.
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