Asian stocks slipped on Tuesday ahead of the US Federal Reserve&#39;s two-day meeting that begins later in the day&nbsp;amid growing worries that this month&#39;s referendum in Britain could see it exit the European Union. 
 
The Pound and Euro have suffered in recent sessions as economists fear a so-called Brexit would tip Europe back into recession. Voters appear divided ahead of the June 23-referendum, with the &quot;Out&quot; campaign widening its lead over the &quot;In&quot; camp, according to two opinion polls published by ICM on Monday. 
 
MSCI&#39;s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.6 per cent&nbsp;after Wall Street lost ground for the third straight session. 
 
Japan&#39;s Nikkei stock index skidded 1.5 per cent after tumbling 3.5 per cent on Monday. 
 
&quot;Short-term hedge funds have started betting on Brexit&nbsp;and futures players will likely dominate the market&#39;s move today,&quot; said Norihiro Fujito, senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities. 
 
The benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond yield fell to as low as minus 0.175 per cent, a fresh record, before edging back to minus 0.170 per cent. 
 
Uncertainty over this week&#39;s Federal Reserve policy meeting has weighed on markets, even while the US central bank is widely expected to leave rates unchanged after the much weaker-than-expected May non-farm payrolls report. 
 
&quot;The committee was actively preparing markets for a June-July rate hike until the release of the May employment report and is unlikely to give up its tightening bias absent additional information that labour markets are weakening,&quot; analysts at Barclays wrote. 
 
&quot;Nevertheless, the abrupt slowing in employment and falling long-run inflation expectations should raise alarm bells, and risk management concerns suggest delaying action until after the outcome of the UK referendum,&quot; they said. 
 
The Bank of England, Swiss National Bank and the Bank of Japan will also meet this week, and are similarly expected to stand pat on policy with the Brexit vote looming. 
 
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six rival currencies, edged up slightly to 94.395, moving back toward the overnight high of 94.750. That was its highest since the downbeat US jobs report toppled the dollar on June 3. 
 
The perceived safe-haven Yen has benefited from investors&#39; risk aversion. The dollar was down 0.2 per cent at 105.99 Yen, moving back toward Monday&#39;s low of 105.735, its weakest level since early May. 
 
Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso issued a fresh warning against renewed strength in the Yen, saying that he would &quot;firmly respond&quot; if rapid and speculative moves persisted in the foreign exchange market. 
 
The Euro was slightly lower at $1.1290. Against the Yen, it skidded 0.3 per cent to 119.69, moving back toward a more than three-year low plumbed in the previous session. 
 
Sterling also notched a three-year low against the Yen on Monday, and was last down 0.8 per cent at 150.35 Yen. Against the Dollar, the Pound dropped 0.6 per cent to $1.4180. 
 
Crude oil prices continued to slip, pressured by the strong US dollar and worrying economic prospects in Europe and Asia, though losses were contained by ongoing supply outages in Nigeria. 
 
Brent was down 1 per cent at $49.84 per barrel, while US crude shed 1.1 per cent to $48.34.

The Pound and Euro have both suffered over fears that UK leaving the EU will cause another European recession

Asian stocks slipped on Tuesday ahead of the US Federal Reserve's two-day meeting that begins later in the day amid growing worries that this month's referendum in Britain could see it exit the European Union. The Pound and Euro have suffered in recent sessions as economists fear a so-called Brexit would tip Europe back into recession. Voters appear divided ahead of the June 23-referendum, with the "Out" campaign widening its lead over the "In" camp, according to two opinion polls published by ICM on Monday. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.6 per cent after Wall Street lost ground for the third straight session. Japan's Nikkei stock index skidded 1.5 per cent after tumbling 3.5 per cent on Monday. "Short-term hedge funds have started betting on Brexit and futures players will likely dominate the market's move today," said Norihiro Fujito, senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities. The benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond yield fell to as low as minus 0.175 per cent, a fresh record, before edging back to minus 0.170 per cent. Uncertainty over this week's Federal Reserve policy meeting has weighed on markets, even while the US central bank is widely expected to leave rates unchanged after the much weaker-than-expected May non-farm payrolls report. "The committee was actively preparing markets for a June-July rate hike until the release of the May employment report and is unlikely to give up its tightening bias absent additional information that labour markets are weakening," analysts at Barclays wrote. "Nevertheless, the abrupt slowing in employment and falling long-run inflation expectations should raise alarm bells, and risk management concerns suggest delaying action until after the outcome of the UK referendum," they said. The Bank of England, Swiss National Bank and the Bank of Japan will also meet this week, and are similarly expected to stand pat on policy with the Brexit vote looming. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six rival currencies, edged up slightly to 94.395, moving back toward the overnight high of 94.750. That was its highest since the downbeat US jobs report toppled the dollar on June 3. The perceived safe-haven Yen has benefited from investors' risk aversion. The dollar was down 0.2 per cent at 105.99 Yen, moving back toward Monday's low of 105.735, its weakest level since early May. Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso issued a fresh warning against renewed strength in the Yen, saying that he would "firmly respond" if rapid and speculative moves persisted in the foreign exchange market. The Euro was slightly lower at $1.1290. Against the Yen, it skidded 0.3 per cent to 119.69, moving back toward a more than three-year low plumbed in the previous session. Sterling also notched a three-year low against the Yen on Monday, and was last down 0.8 per cent at 150.35 Yen. Against the Dollar, the Pound dropped 0.6 per cent to $1.4180. Crude oil prices continued to slip, pressured by the strong US dollar and worrying economic prospects in Europe and Asia, though losses were contained by ongoing supply outages in Nigeria. Brent was down 1 per cent at $49.84 per barrel, while US crude shed 1.1 per cent to $48.34.

Asian shares slip as Brexit vote looms

Gold inched down on Tuesday as investors waited for cues from a two-day US Federal Reserve meeting beginning later in the day and a June 23-referendum that will decide whether Britain will exit the European Union. 
 
Spot gold was down 0.4 per cent at $1,279.16 an ounce as of 0648 GMT, but has gained more than 5 per cent this month, hitting a peak of $1,287 on Monday, its highest since May 16. 
 
US gold fell 0.4 per cent to $1,282.30. 
 
&quot;I think investors have decided to take profits and some of them are staying on the sidelines before taking a decision on what to do next until the Fed makes an announcement,&quot; said Brian Lan, managing director at Singapore-based gold dealer GoldSilver Central. 
 
Bullion, which is often perceived as a hedge against economic and financial uncertainty, has been driven by rising investor risk aversion before key central bank meetings this week. 
 
Apart from the Fed, the Bank of England, Swiss National Bank and the Bank of Japan will meet this week, and are expected to hold monetary policies steady against a backdrop of caution about the global economic outlook. 
 
The safe-haven appeal of gold, which is near a four-week high hit in the previous session, could get a further boost if a vote by Britain to leave the 28-member group, dubbed &quot;Brexit&quot;, pushes Europe back into a recession. 
 
The British pound remained fragile near a two-month low against the dollar, while Asian stocks slipped on Tuesday on concerns ahead of the referendum. 
 
Britain&#39;s &quot;Out&quot; campaign widened its lead over the &quot;In&quot; camp ahead of the referendum according to two opinion polls published by ICM on Monday. 
 
&quot;We think that the risk of Britain leaving has now increased substantially and the Fed will therefore signal its willingness in no uncertain terms to &#39;stay the course&#39; in light of this potential &#39;Black Swan&#39; event,&quot; INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir said in a note. 
 
&quot;This will likely enable gold to push even higher over the next few days, at least until the polls start to swing the other way.&quot; 
 
Meanwhile, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd is aiming to launch its planned physically-delivered gold futures contract in September, said&nbsp;its head on Tuesday. 
 
Holdings in SPDR Gold Trust, the world&#39;s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose 0.27 per cent to 896.30 tonnes on Monday, the highest since October 2013. 
 
Spot silver fell 0.8 percent to $17.29 per ounce, after touching a one-month high of $17.45 on Monday.

Gold is likely to get a further boost if a vote by Britain to leave the 28-member group dubbed "Brexit," pushes Europe back into a recession

Gold inched down on Tuesday as investors waited for cues from a two-day US Federal Reserve meeting beginning later in the day and a June 23-referendum that will decide whether Britain will exit the European Union. Spot gold was down 0.4 per cent at $1,279.16 an ounce as of 0648 GMT, but has gained more than 5 per cent this month, hitting a peak of $1,287 on Monday, its highest since May 16. US gold fell 0.4 per cent to $1,282.30. "I think investors have decided to take profits and some of them are staying on the sidelines before taking a decision on what to do next until the Fed makes an announcement," said Brian Lan, managing director at Singapore-based gold dealer GoldSilver Central. Bullion, which is often perceived as a hedge against economic and financial uncertainty, has been driven by rising investor risk aversion before key central bank meetings this week. Apart from the Fed, the Bank of England, Swiss National Bank and the Bank of Japan will meet this week, and are expected to hold monetary policies steady against a backdrop of caution about the global economic outlook. The safe-haven appeal of gold, which is near a four-week high hit in the previous session, could get a further boost if a vote by Britain to leave the 28-member group, dubbed "Brexit", pushes Europe back into a recession. The British pound remained fragile near a two-month low against the dollar, while Asian stocks slipped on Tuesday on concerns ahead of the referendum. Britain's "Out" campaign widened its lead over the "In" camp ahead of the referendum according to two opinion polls published by ICM on Monday. "We think that the risk of Britain leaving has now increased substantially and the Fed will therefore signal its willingness in no uncertain terms to 'stay the course' in light of this potential 'Black Swan' event," INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir said in a note. "This will likely enable gold to push even higher over the next few days, at least until the polls start to swing the other way." Meanwhile, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd is aiming to launch its planned physically-delivered gold futures contract in September, said its head on Tuesday. Holdings in SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose 0.27 per cent to 896.30 tonnes on Monday, the highest since October 2013. Spot silver fell 0.8 percent to $17.29 per ounce, after touching a one-month high of $17.45 on Monday.

Gold dips, but lingers near four-week high ahead of Fed meeting

<div style="text-align: justify;">Fears that&nbsp;Britain is on the verge of voting to leave the European Union next week, spread through global financial markets today, sending Asian and European shares sharply lower and the pound to an eight-week low. 
 
With the world economy looking shaky, and surprisingly weak, jobs figures last month suggesting even the United States is not ready for higher interest rates, concerns over the economic fallout of a Brexit have lurked in the background for weeks. 
 
They were at the heart on Monday of the biggest falls for Asian stock markets in four months, and a one&nbsp;per cent drop in European share prices, after a new poll late on Friday gave the &quot;Leave&quot; camp a 10 point lead. 
 
Money markets have now abandoned expectations, high just weeks ago, that the US&nbsp;Federal Reserve could raise official borrowing costs on Wednesday. Instead, the worry is that it could use language that quells expectations of a move this year at all. 
 
&quot;We&#39;re in uncharted territory in front of the Brexit vote, and then there&#39;s also the Fed this week. So the wall of worry is quite high at the moment,&quot; said Zeg Choudhry, managing director at LONTRAD.&nbsp;&quot;All the banks are a little bit lower, and they&#39;re the ones which are likely to get hit. For the next two weeks, you&#39;ve got to be slightly mad if you&#39;ve not got your money in defensive stocks.&quot; 
 
The news out of China, global investors&#39; other big concern this year, was also poor, with data showing investment growth cooling. Stock markets in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai all fell by around three&nbsp;per cent. 
 
By comparison, the moves in Europe, where investors have been preparing for the British vote for months, were more subdued. Britain&#39;s FTSE 100 fell one&nbsp;per cent, Germany&#39;s DAX 0.9 per cent, and France&#39;s CAC 40 by 0.8 per cent. 
 
On currency markets, sterling fell another half a per cent against the Dollar after sinking by as much as 3 full cents in value on Friday. The biggest beneficiary of the global moves, however, was the Yen, traditionally investors&#39; first choice in times of financial and economic stress. 
 
Further gains for the Japanese currency, which broke past long-term resistance around 106.50 Yen per Dollar and is up 14 per cent this year, puts more pressure on the Bank of Japan to act against the currency&#39;s strength this week. 
 
&quot;While the pound is the worst-performing G10 currency versus the Dollar this year, the Yen is by far the best,&quot; said Derek Halpenny, European Head of Global Markets Research at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi in London. 
 
&quot;The continued surge of the Yen will lift expectations that the BOJ may surprise the markets and announce some additional monetary easing.&quot; 
 
The grim mood was visible on commodities markets, where crude oil futures added to Friday&#39;s three&nbsp;per cent drop after data showed the US&nbsp;oil drilling rig count rose for the second week in row. 
 
Gold, another perceived safe haven, hit four-week highs above $1,280 an ounce. (Reuters)</div>

Asian stock markets experience biggest drop in 4 months and European share prices fall by one per cent due to Britain's unassertive decision

Fears that Britain is on the verge of voting to leave the European Union next week, spread through global financial markets today, sending Asian and European shares sharply lower and the pound to an eight-week low. With the world economy looking shaky, and surprisingly weak, jobs figures last month suggesting even the United States is not ready for higher interest rates, concerns over the economic fallout of a Brexit have lurked in the background for weeks. They were at the heart on Monday of the biggest falls for Asian stock markets in four months, and a one per cent drop in European share prices, after a new poll late on Friday gave the "Leave" camp a 10 point lead. Money markets have now abandoned expectations, high just weeks ago, that the US Federal Reserve could raise official borrowing costs on Wednesday. Instead, the worry is that it could use language that quells expectations of a move this year at all. "We're in uncharted territory in front of the Brexit vote, and then there's also the Fed this week. So the wall of worry is quite high at the moment," said Zeg Choudhry, managing director at LONTRAD. "All the banks are a little bit lower, and they're the ones which are likely to get hit. For the next two weeks, you've got to be slightly mad if you've not got your money in defensive stocks." The news out of China, global investors' other big concern this year, was also poor, with data showing investment growth cooling. Stock markets in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai all fell by around three per cent. By comparison, the moves in Europe, where investors have been preparing for the British vote for months, were more subdued. Britain's FTSE 100 fell one per cent, Germany's DAX 0.9 per cent, and France's CAC 40 by 0.8 per cent. On currency markets, sterling fell another half a per cent against the Dollar after sinking by as much as 3 full cents in value on Friday. The biggest beneficiary of the global moves, however, was the Yen, traditionally investors' first choice in times of financial and economic stress. Further gains for the Japanese currency, which broke past long-term resistance around 106.50 Yen per Dollar and is up 14 per cent this year, puts more pressure on the Bank of Japan to act against the currency's strength this week. "While the pound is the worst-performing G10 currency versus the Dollar this year, the Yen is by far the best," said Derek Halpenny, European Head of Global Markets Research at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi in London. "The continued surge of the Yen will lift expectations that the BOJ may surprise the markets and announce some additional monetary easing." The grim mood was visible on commodities markets, where crude oil futures added to Friday's three per cent drop after data showed the US oil drilling rig count rose for the second week in row. Gold, another perceived safe haven, hit four-week highs above $1,280 an ounce. (Reuters)

Brexit fear factor sends global stocks spinning

British support for leaving the European Union (EU) in a June 23 referendum has risen, giving the Out campaign a lead of two to four percentage points, according to opinion polls by Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS), a market research and market information group, and YouGov, an international internet-based market research firm. 
 
A YouGov online poll of 3,495 people for ITV&#39;s Good Morning Britain showed 45 per cent would opt to leave the EU, while 41 per cent would opt to stay. Over 11 per cent of voters were undecided. The poll was carried out from June 1 to June 3. 
 
A TNS online poll of 1,213 people showed 43 per cent would vote to leave, 41 per cent would vote to stay and 16 per cent were undecided. The TNS poll was carried out from May 19 to May 23, &nbsp;but was adjusted for turnout. 
 
Sterling fell one per cent against the dollar to hit a three-week low today, while the cost of hedging against swings over the coming month traded at its highest since early 2009 on growing concerns over whether Britain will stay in the European Union. 
 
Against the dollar, sterling was one per cent lower at $1.4370, having fallen to $1.4352 GBP=D4 in early Asian trading, its lowest in three weeks. The euro was 0.75 per cent higher at 78.95 pence EURGBP=D4. 
 
Sterling fell sharply last Tuesday when both an online and a telephone poll for ICM showed a three-percentage-point lead for the &quot;Leave&quot; campaign.

A YouGov online poll of 3,495 people showed that 45 per cent would opt to leave the European Union, while 41 per cent would opt to stay

British support for leaving the European Union (EU) in a June 23 referendum has risen, giving the Out campaign a lead of two to four percentage points, according to opinion polls by Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS), a market research and market information group, and YouGov, an international internet-based market research firm. A YouGov online poll of 3,495 people for ITV's Good Morning Britain showed 45 per cent would opt to leave the EU, while 41 per cent would opt to stay. Over 11 per cent of voters were undecided. The poll was carried out from June 1 to June 3. A TNS online poll of 1,213 people showed 43 per cent would vote to leave, 41 per cent would vote to stay and 16 per cent were undecided. The TNS poll was carried out from May 19 to May 23, but was adjusted for turnout. Sterling fell one per cent against the dollar to hit a three-week low today, while the cost of hedging against swings over the coming month traded at its highest since early 2009 on growing concerns over whether Britain will stay in the European Union. Against the dollar, sterling was one per cent lower at $1.4370, having fallen to $1.4352 GBP=D4 in early Asian trading, its lowest in three weeks. The euro was 0.75 per cent higher at 78.95 pence EURGBP=D4. Sterling fell sharply last Tuesday when both an online and a telephone poll for ICM showed a three-percentage-point lead for the "Leave" campaign.

TNS, YouGov polls give Brexit lead of 3 percentage points

Japanese stocks suffered their biggest daily percentage drop in a month today hit by a stronger Yen, while global concerns such as the upcoming Brexit vote and worries about Japan&#39;s fiscal policies sapped risk appetite. 
 
The Nikkei share average fell 2.3 per cent to 16,562.55, the biggest daily drop since May 2. 
 
The already pressured dollar sank further against the yen after Bank of Japan board member Takehiro Sato reiterated his view that the BOJ should consider its 2 per cent inflation target as a long-term goal with room for flexibility, rather than one with a rigid deadline. 
 
That meant the BOJ should modify its current massive asset buying programme, which was intended to be a short-term move aimed at shocking the public out of its deflationary mindset. 
 
The broader Topix declined 2.2 per cent to 1,331.81 and the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 fell 2.3 per cent to 12,004.95.

The Nikkei share average fell 2.3 per cent to 16,562.55, the biggest daily drop since May 2. The upcoming Brexit vote and worries about Japan's fiscal policies play their part

Japanese stocks suffered their biggest daily percentage drop in a month today hit by a stronger Yen, while global concerns such as the upcoming Brexit vote and worries about Japan's fiscal policies sapped risk appetite. The Nikkei share average fell 2.3 per cent to 16,562.55, the biggest daily drop since May 2. The already pressured dollar sank further against the yen after Bank of Japan board member Takehiro Sato reiterated his view that the BOJ should consider its 2 per cent inflation target as a long-term goal with room for flexibility, rather than one with a rigid deadline. That meant the BOJ should modify its current massive asset buying programme, which was intended to be a short-term move aimed at shocking the public out of its deflationary mindset. The broader Topix declined 2.2 per cent to 1,331.81 and the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 fell 2.3 per cent to 12,004.95.

Nikkei hit by strong Yen, suffers biggest drop in a month

brexit-0

Brexit, News on Brexit, stories on Brexit, articles on Brexit, Brexit stories at Wion, Brexit news, Brexit latest news

brexit 0

Asian shares slip as Brexit vote looms

Gold dips, but lingers near four-week high ahead of Fed meeting

Brexit fear factor sends global stocks spinning

TNS, YouGov polls give Brexit lead of 3 percentage points

Nikkei hit by strong Yen, suffers biggest drop in a month