Intraday Tips, Dollar firm, shares ease in Asia as Fed hike looms

See more info or log on. http://www.ripplesadvisory.com/aboutus.php

The dollar held broad gains on Friday as the risk of an imminent US interest rate hike slugged sovereign bonds and commodities, even managing to sour Wall Street's party as the reality of rising borrowing costs began to sink in. Asian stock markets were mostly lower, with MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan off 0.4 percent and Australia down 1 percent. Japan's Nikkei eased just a fraction, with a weaker yen helping limit the losses. A chorus line of Fed officials singing of the need for higher rates has seen the implied probability of a move this month shoot to 74 percent, from just 30 percent at the start of the week. Fed Chair Janet Yellen and Vice Chair Stanley Fischer are both due to speak later on Friday and are expected to stick to the same tune.