By Ankur Banerjee

SINGAPORE, Dec 1 (Reuters) – Stocks turned lower on Monday after a strong end to November as a bout of risk aversion gripped markets even as U.S. rate-cut optimism remained intact while the yen firmed, with investors weighing the prospect of a rate hike as soon as this month. The spotlight in the currency market has been on the Japanese yen, which strengthened to 155.47 per U.S. dollar as Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda took the stage in Nagoya with investors looking for cues on the timing of the next hike. Ueda said in a speech to business leaders that the central bank would consider the “pros and cons” of raising rates at its next policy meeting, providing the strongest signal yet on whether a hike was on the cards later this month. Ueda is due to speak again

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