GLOBAL MARKETS-Asia shares turn sluggish ahead of Trump speech

* Asian stock markets : https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
* Stocks little moved in early trade
* Awaiting Trump speech in New York for news on trade
* Reports Trump to delay auto tariffs on EU for 6 months
* Sterling holds gains after Boris gets a Brexit boost

By Wayne Cole
SYDNEY, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Asian share markets got off to a
sluggish start on Tuesday amid uncertainty over both the
Sino-U.S. trade talks and the domestic political situation in
Hong Kong.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS eased 0.05%, following a sharp 1.2% pullback on
Monday.
Japan's Nikkei .N225 dithered either side of flat, while
South Korean stocks .KS11 inched up 0.3%. E-Mini futures for
the S&P 500 ESc1 was off 0.1% in quiet trade.
Caution ruled ahead of a speech by U.S. President Donald
Trump to the Economic Club of New York later in the day in case
there was any new word on the Sino-U.S. Phase one trade deal.
Trump wrongfooted markets over the weekend when he said
there had been incorrect reporting about U.S. willingness to
lift tariffs on China.
On a more positive note, Politico reported Trump would
announce this week that he is delaying a decision on whether to
slap tariffs on imported European Union autos for another six
months. Investors were also eyeing the situation in Hong Kong after
a violent escalation of protests knocked nearly 2% off
Asia-exposed banks HSBC HSBA.L and StanChart STAN.L .
A partial holiday in the United States closed the Treasury
market on Monday and made for a quiet session on Wall Street.
The Dow .DJI ended up 0.04%, while the S&P 500 .SPX lost
0.20% and the Nasdaq .IXIC 0.13%.
Shares of Boeing Co BA.N jumped 4.5% after saying it
expected U.S. regulators to approve the return to commercial
service of its grounded 737 MAX jet in the coming weeks, and
expects commercial service to resume in January. In currency markets, the main action was in sterling which
hit a six-month high on the euro after the Brexit Party said it
would not contest previously Conservative held seats in the UK
election. In a significant boost for Prime Minister Boris Johnson
ahead of the Dec. 12 election, Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage
said he did not want anti-Brexit parties to win, so was standing
down candidates in seats won by the Conservatives in 2017.
The pound reached 0.8582 per euro EURGBP= , and firmed to
$1.2864 GBP= having risen 0.6% overnight.
The dollar also eased back elsewhere, dipping to 98.210 on a
basket of currencies .DXY .
The euro edged up to $1.1035 EUR= and away from a
three-week low of $1.1015, while the dollar faded to 109.02 yen
JPY= .
Spot gold suffered a third day of declines, to touch its
lowest since early August at $1,447.89 per ounce XAU= .
Oil prices edged lower as the lack of progress on U.S.-China
trade negotiations kept prices pressured, though bullish
inventory data offered some support. O/R
U.S. crude CLc1 lost 22 cents to $56.64 a barrel, while
Brent crude LCOc1 futures were yet to trade.

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(Editing by Sam Holmes)