An investor sits in front of a board showing stock information at a brokerage office in Beijing, China, December 7, 2018. REUTERS/Thomas PeterTOKYO (Reuters) - Asian share markets ticked up on Monday as investors cautiously looked to whether key policy events in the United States and China could allay concerns about slowing global economic growth.MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.25 percent. retail sales excluding automobiles, gasoline, building materials and food services rose 0.9 percent last month after an upwardly revised 0.7 percent increase in October.Still, some analysts said the dollar could be held back by the probability of a partial U.S. government shutdown as President Donald Trump and federal lawmakers disagree over funding for a border wall. The stopgap funding bill agreed earlier this month will expire on Dec. 21.The euro traded at $1.1307, having fallen to $1.1270 on Friday, its lowest level since Nov. 28.IHS Markit’s Flash Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index slumped to 51.3, its weakest since November 2014, from a final November reading of 52.7. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures stood almost flat at $51.26 per barrel, after a loss of 2.7 percent last week.

Source: Egypt Today December 17, 2018 07:07 UTC