Overnight

Dollar down, Asian stocks higher is the overnight theme after weaker than expected data for the U.S. ISM services most likely put the lid on any hopes for the Fed hiking interest rates this month. Asian shared traded mixed with the Nikkei 225 off 0.63% as the dollar weakened pushing the dollar/yen to 101.42, below its 103 level seen the last three trading sessions.

The Hang Seng was down 0.28%, the Shanghai Composite index up 0.36%,the Kospi edged higher 0.06% and the ASX 200 moved up 0.04% as the news is being dominated once again by central bank happenings or the lack thereof.. U.S. crude oil futures traded up 0.42 percent at $45.02 a barrel, while Brent futures gained 0.49 percent to $47.49, after falling 0.8 percent the day earlier on receding hopes of an agreement between Saudi Arabia and Russia to freeze output. Despite higher crude prices, oil-related stocks in Asia were mostly lower.


Confidence continues to wane about the Bank of Japan's ability to effective stimulate the markets with any further monetary policy changes. As more and more investors question central bank policy effectiveness, the  plot not only thickens it becomes more murky, hardly a confidence builder. As CNBC International reports: Expectations for further quantitative easing at upcoming European Central Bank and Bank of Japan meetings may be running high, but chances are central bankers will be wasting their time with fresh measures, analysts warned. 

Brian Coulton, chief economist at Fitch Ratings, said the gap was narrowing between the marginal benefits of central banks further expanding their balance sheets by buying more assets and the unintended negative consequences. 

"Quantitative easing has some downside effects for the profitability of banks," Coulton said on Tuesday at Fitch's Global Sovereign Conference in Singapore. "It may not spur bank lending as strongly as you would expect." 

In the U.S. Both gold and silver ended the U.S. day session sharply higher and hit three-week highs. Overnight gains in both metals were solidly extended after the morning release of a very downbeat U.S. ISM non-manufacturing report for August, according to Kitco. Silver was moving towards $20 an ounce and gold trading at $1355.50.