22 September, 2017
If they rose then Japanese financial companies that invested in high-yielding products such as foreign bonds were also likely to gain.
The energy group added 0.9 percent, boosted by a 3.4 percent gain for oil and natural gas producer Encana Corp (ECA.TO) to C$13.14. On late Tuesday, the country's telecom regulator more than halved an interconnection charge that mobile phone operators pay each other for calls terminating on a competitor's network.
While initially surging against the US Dollar on Monday the Australian Dollar quickly fell back as markets shifted from concerns over North Korea towards the upcoming rate decision from the Federal Reserve, with some analysts branding it the bank's "biggest meeting of the year".
Fed policymakers have for months downplayed stubbornly low inflation as the result of temporary factors, but core CPI has not risen above 2.3 percent in six years.
In the USA stock market, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 63.01 points, or 0.28 percent, to 22,331.35, the S&P 500 gained 3.64 points, or 0.15 percent, to 2,503.87 and the Nasdaq Composite added 6.17 points, or 0.1 percent, to 6,454.64.
Overnight, U.S. stocks eked out modest gains to hit record closing highs, with financials and technology stocks pacing the gainers as the FOMC meeting got underway.
The Fed has signaled it will begin to reduce the size of its bond holdings, which grew to $4.5 trillion as part of the "quantitative easing" program launched in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis after interest rates were cut to zero.
The dollar was 0.4 percent higher at 112.640 yen JPY=, its highest since July 18.
A threat by US President Donald Trump to "totally destroy" North Korea also helped to push the dollar lower while stimulating demand for gold, seen as a safe investment in times of uncertainty.
The euro edged up to touch $1.2019, its highest since September 11.
United States gold futures for the December contract were up by 0.07 percent to $1,311.73, after falling to its lowest since August 31 at $1,308.10.
Currency markets had a muted reaction to Trump's latest comments on North Korea. Brent crude, used to price global oils, gained 14 cents to $56.15 a barrel in London.
There have been some concerns with economic data over the last few months, as inflation in the U.S. has remained below expected levels.
The spot gold price was quoted at $1,312.40-1,312.80 per oz as of 04:08 GMT, up $1.95 from the previous session's close.
After a banking holiday on Monday, Japanese investors have returned with buying fever self-evident this morning as the Nikkei Index has surged almost 1 and a half percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slipped 0.1 percent to 28,072.92 and the Shanghai Composite in mainland China dipped 0.1 percent to 3,361.72.
Spreadbetters expected Britain's FTSE to start unchanged and Germany's DAX and France's CAC to each open down about 0.1 percent.
