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Fed Chair Powell signals no rush for rate cuts

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Dollar strengthens, euro weakens amid policy divergence

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Asian shares set to end brutal week on steadier note

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Yen bears on alert as Japan issues FX warning

(Updates with Chinese data, China markets)

By Stella Qiu

SYDNEY, Nov 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar was poised

for big weekly gains on Friday, towering near one-year highs as

a hawkish turn from the Federal Reserve chief sent short-term

Treasury yields higher, leaving Wall Street and European futures

in the red.

Asian shares looked to end a brutal week on a steadier note,

helped by Chinese data retail sales in the world's

second-biggest economy beat forecasts in October in a welcome

sign for consumer spending, although other indicators missed.

Overnight, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said there was no need to

rush rate cuts with the economy still growing, the job market

solid and inflation still above the 2% target, tempering

expectations for a rate cut next month.

Fed fund futures for next year slumped with December

off 7 ticks and imply just 71 basis points of rate cuts by

end-2025. A rate cut next month is no longer a high probability

event, with just 61% priced in, down from 82.5% in the prior

session.

That lifted the dollar across the board, especially against

the euro as expectations for more aggressive policy easing in

Europe further undermined the single currency already trading at

one-year lows.

Goldman Sachs now sees a greater risk that the Fed could

slow the pace of easing sooner, possibly as soon as the December

or January meetings, while JPMorgan still tips the Fed to cut in

December though they expect the central bank could dial down the

easing pace in January.

"After the sugar hit of Trump's election and its subsequent

impacts on expectations for company profits, the market's

enthusiasm is being watered-down by greater interest rate

uncertainty, especially going into next year," said Kyle Rodda,

a senior analyst at Capital.com.

On Friday, Nasdaq futures fell 0.4% while S&P 500

futures eased 0.3%. EUROSTOXX 50 futures fell

0.5%.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan

rose 0.2% but was still down 4.3% for the week,

the biggest weekly loss in more than two years.

A regional healthcare index underperformed

with a drop of 1%, after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump

nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent vaccine sceptic, to

lead the top US health agency.

Tokyo's Nikkei, however, gained 0.7% driven by a

pull back in the yen, which boosted the outlook for Japanese

exporters. Still, it was down 1.7% for the week.

The dollar gained for five days on the yen, up another 0.2%

to 156.51, about the highest level since July.

But yen bears were on guard as Japan's finance ministry kept

up its warnings of government action against excessive currency

moves. Bank of Japan also announced governor Kazuo Ueda will

deliver a speech on Monday, which will be watched for any hints

on the timing of the next rate hike.

Chinese shares trimmed earlier losses as official data

showed retail sales rose by a better-than-expected 4.8% in

October, but growth in industrial output missed forecasts and

declines in property investment deepened.

China's blue chips were last down 0.1% while Hong Kong's

Hang Seng index rose 0.9%.

In the U.S. policy front, even before Powell spoke, producer

prices data showed that the core gauge surprised slightly to the

upside, which also had markets worried about the pace of easing

ahead.

Short-term Treasury yields shot up overnight and remained

elevated on Friday. The two-year yields held at

4.36%, having jumped 6 basis points overnight to close at

4.357%.

In the currency markets, the dollar is set for a big weekly

gain of 1.6% against its major peers.

The euro nursed heavy losses at $1.0540 and is set

for a hefty weekly loss of 1.7%. Minutes of the latest meeting

from the European Central Bank showed the cut last month was

likely an insurance move.

Markets are, however, more dovish on the ECB and see a

decent 36% chance it could step up its easing in December with a

half-point move to guard against growth risks. They are also

wagering that the ECB will have to cut at each meeting until mid

next year.

The lofty dollar pressured commodity prices, with gold

prices down 4.3% this week to $2,568.55, bringing the

monthly loss so far to a sizeable 8%.

Oil are also down for the week. Brent crude futures

are set for a weekly loss of 2.3% and were last at $72.15 a

barrel.