Asia stocks choppy, on track for best month in three years

Stocks were volatile in early Asian trading on Friday after US President Donald Trump ​endorsed a bipartisan deal to avert a fresh government shutdown and said he has decided who he will nominate to lead the ‌Federal Reserve. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fluctuated between gains and losses and was recently down 0.2%, extending the previous day’s declines as it headed for its best monthly performance in more than three years. S&P 500 e-mini futures slid 0.4% and Nasdaq e-mini futures were off 0.5%, while precious metals were choppy after a flash crash. “Progress toward averting a shutdown would reinforce U.S. yields and the dollar, while heightened shutdown risk would shift markets to headline-driven moves amid possible data ‌delays,” said Shoki Omori, chief desk strategist for rates and FX at Mizuho in Tokyo.