TOKYO -- Uncertainty over the pound is looming again as Prime Minister Theresa May prepares to give a long-awaited speech on Tuesday night, widely expected to outline plans for a "hard Brexit." With no clear prospects for sterling, the overwhelming mood in the markets is one of risk-avoidance.
Market watchers have begun to see a hard Brexit as inevitable, resulting in Britain's financial services losing access to the European Union's single market. But with the lack of clarity over what form negotiations with the EU will take, market players reacted hesitantly.