Essentially until May 4 we're waiting for results fromthe stress tests
"Essentially, until May 4, we're waiting for results fromthe stress tests. It's quite a messy process until then." The MSCI index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan.MIAPJ0000PUS was up 0.5 percent after a 1.5 percent fall onTuesday. Rolling 20-day returns for the index have been fallingin April, but at 8.6 percent are still higher than 3.7 percenton the all-country world index .MIWD00000PUS. Japan's Nikkei share average .N225 rose 0.2 percent, asgains in technology shares pipped declines in industrials. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index .HSI slipped 0.1 percent inchoppy trade.
CITIC Pacific (0267.HK) was a standout winner onthe day as its shares gained 5.4 percent after the conglomerateagreed to sell its stake in an Inner Mongolian power companyfor $293 million After U.S. share markets finished Tuesday up between 1.5percent to 2 percent, S&P 500 futures SPc1 were down 0.5percent, indicating a lower open on Wall Street later in theday. SOME CONFIDENCE RETURNS Institutional investor confidence has strengthened after aG20 meeting that bolstered the IMF, but still faces obstaclesto sustaining gains. The State Street Investor Confidence index rose to thehighest since July 2008 in April, but the results of the U.S.Treasury stress tests on banks and the fate of unorthodoxpolicy measures by the Bank of England are near-term headwinds.
"There are still many chapters yet to unfold before thistragedy reaches its final page," State Street Global Marketsanalysts said in a note. "However, the sub-plot of thefinancial crisis and collapsing global equity markets may bedrawing to a resolution." The dollar shed 0.3 percent to 98.30 yen JPY= aftergaining 0.8 percent on Tuesday. It hit a six-month high of101.45 on April 6 but has gradually fallen since then. The euro fell 0.4 percent to 127.15 yen EURJPY=R afterjumping nearly 1 percent on Tuesday It edged down 0.1 percentto $1.2940 EUR=. Uncertainty about the European Central Bank's next monetarypolicy move has kept selling pressure on the euro this month. The ECB is expected to cut interest rates from 1.25 percentto 1.0 percent in May but it is unclear whether it will followthe Federal Reserve and other central banks and create moneythrough other means, such as buying corporate or sovereigndebt U.S.