Asian markets advance as US shutdown set to end

By Gregor Stuart Hunter SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Stocks made headway in Asian trading on Wednesday as the U.S. Congress looked set to end the federal shutdown and traders looked for direction in the absence of clues from government data services. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.4% as members of the House of Representatives prepared to vote on a measure that could restore funding to government agencies and end a shutdown that started on October 1 and is now the longest in U.S. history. "Sentiment improved after the U.S. Senate passed a bill to end the longest U.S. government shutdown on record," analysts from Westpac wrote in a research report. "The House is expected to approve the bill in the coming days." S&P 500 e-mini futures were trading 0.2% higher after a mixed session for U.S. stocks on Tuesday that saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average rise 1.2% to reach a record close, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.3%. In the absence of data from federal government agencies, traders focused on weekly jobs data from ADP on Tuesday which showed private employers shed an average of 11,250 jobs a week in the four weeks ending on October 25. Traders are increasing bets on further easing from the Federal Reserve. Fed funds futures are pricing an implied 67% probability of a 25-basis-point cut at the U.S. central bank's next meeting on December 10, compared to a 62% chance a day earlier, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was last 0.1% higher at 99.574, trading slightly higher after reaching the lowest levels this month earlier in the session. The U.S. dollar strengthened 0.2% against the yen to 154.48. The euro slipped 0.1% to $1.1575. Taiwanese stocks led gains in Asia, up 1%, while in Japan, the Topix rose 0.6% to hit a fresh record high. SoftBank Group bucked the trend with a 6.2% decline, taking its month-to-date loss to 21% after it said it had sold its entire stake in Nvidia on Tuesday. Even after the recent fall, shares in Japan's biggest tech sector investor have more than doubled this year. "It certainly is a signal that we are seeing or past peak momentum," said Sean Taylor, chief investment officer at Matthews Asia. "But the fundamentals are still good – AI capex spend, U.S. cutting rates, earnings," he added. "So at the moment the market is torn between short-term positioning and lack of catalysts after good performance, and a fundamentally good story and growth pick-up in 2026."Brent crude slid 0.3% to $64.93 per barrel, edging back after reaching the highest since October 31, on the impact of the latest U.S. sanctions on Russian oil and optimism over a potential end to the government shutdown. Gold was last 0.5% lower at $4,105.69. [GOL/] Bitcoin was last up 0.7% at $103,321.77. (Reporting by Gregor Stuart Hunter; Editing by Kim Coghill)

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