Asian equities ease, US dollar steady March 17, 2021SharePrint Asian markets ease, dollar firm as FOMC looms Asian equities have eased over today’s session as investors reduce exposure ahead of tonight’s FOMC. Not helping sentiment was Blinken comments about Chinese aggression, and that, along with China’s ongoing tech crackdown, has made mainland exchanges today’s underperformers. The overnight session was nondescript, with the S&P 500 edging 0.16% lower, the Nasdaq rising just 0.90%, and the Dow Jones retreating 0.39%. US index futures have edged lower with their Asian peers this morning. The Nikkei 225 has 0.17% lower, while Samsung’s warning on semi-conductor shortages has seen the Kospi fall by 1.05%. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite has fallen 0.50%, with the CSI 200 down 0.25%. Both indexes were sharply lower a short time ago, suggesting that China’s “national team” may be in supporting prices at the moment.