Asian stocks slipped on Tuesday (June 14) amid growing worries this month’s referendum in Britain could see it exit the European Union, while markets were also nervous ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting that begins later in the day.
The pound and euro have suffered in recent sessions as economists fear that the so-called Brexit would tip Europe back into recession. Voters appear divided ahead of the June 23 referendum, with the “Out” campaign widening its lead over the “In” camp, according to two opinion polls published by ICM on Monday (June 13).
Japan’s Nikkei stock index .N225 slipped to two-month lows in choppy trade, and was off 0.2 percent after tumbling 3.5 percent on Monday (June 13).
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index opened down but was able to recover some of the losses of the previous day when it fell around 2.5 percent.
Uncertainty over this week’s Federal Open Market Committee policy meeting has weighed on markets, though the U.S. central bank is widely expected to leave rates unchanged after the much weaker-than-expected May nonfarm payrolls report.
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