By Wayne Cole

SYDNEY, Dec 10 (Reuters) – Asian shares and Wall Street futures gave ground on Wednesday as crunch time neared for a divided Federal Reserve policy board, and earnings results threatened to test sky-high valuations in the AI space.

With most assets frozen in the Fed headlights, attention was grabbed by a sudden slide in the Japanese yen and the continued dizzy ‍ascent of silver prices, which both hit record peaks.

The futures market, at least, is confident the Fed will cut rates by a quarter point to 3.50-3.75% later in the day, pricing it at a 89% probability. Yet it also assumes the guidance will be hawkish, implying just a 21% chance of a January move.

Much will depend on how many “dot plot” forecasts from Fed members see one, two or no more cuts next year. Analysts al

See Full Page