Asian Markets Climbs Up And US Doller Down
SYDNEY: Asian shares hit their highest levels for 2009 on Wednesday after upbeat U.S. economic news gave riskier assets leveraged to global growth a boost, while the U.S. dollar slipped to a one-year low.
Most major Asian stock indexes posted gains of 1 percent or more in the wake of Tuesday’s strong reading on U.S. retail sales. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei climbed 111.31 points to 10,328.93. The broader Topix rose 0.75 percent to 939.48.
Many regional currencies likewise did well, especially those of big commodity exporters such as Australia , largely at the expense of the U.S. dollar.
“As the global recovery continues and risk diversification takes place we could see the U.S. dollar stay under pressure for the next six months,” said Amber Rabinov, economist, foreign exchange and international economics at ANZ in Sydney.
Measured against a basket of major currencies the dollar slipped as deep as 76.406, the lowest since last October, while the euro came within a whisker of its 2009 high at $0.4681.
The dollar also eased to 90.95 yen amid talk investors were using the dollar for carry trades. Until recently, the low-yielding yen was the currency of choice for investors who borrow cheap to buy riskier assets or high-yielding currencies. But that has changed since 3-month U.S. LIBOR rates fell below Japanese rates.
“We expect the dollar to test its recent lows on the yen, and probably fall as low as 87 yen as talk of it replacing the yen as a funding currency gathers momentum,” said Rabinov.
The brighter outlook for global growth helped an Australian share market packed with resource exporters. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index jumped 2 percent to a year-high of 4,633.4, with mining giant BHP up 1.9 percent.
The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific shares excluding Japan rose 1.3 percent, its highest this year. The MSCI benchmark is now up about 53.5 percent for the year.
The Bank of Japan began a two-day policy meeting, but analysts aren’t holding their breath for the outcome given rates are already near zero and policymakers are reluctant to go any further with exceptional easing measures.
Still, investors are busy trying to second-guess the likely economic policies of the new government.
Japan’s new prime minister, Yukio Hatoyama, takes office on Wednesday and is expected to announce his cabinet line-up after a huge election win on Aug. 30.
The gains for Asian came courtesy of better U.S. news.
Tuesday’s data on retail sales showed a jump of 2.7 percent in August, the fastest pace of growth in 3-½ years.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke felt confident enough to declare the U.S. recession “very likely over”.
The rise in sales added to expectations U.S. economic growth would stage a sizable rebound in the third quarter, thanks in part to businesses rebuilding inventories to meet demand.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 56.61 points to 9,683.41, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index ended 3.29 points up at 1,052.63.
Asian Markets Climbs Up And US Doller Down was first posted on September 16, 2009 at 2:57 pm.
©2009 “News Trends“.
Oil Prices Stay On A Point
SINGAPORE: Oil prices hung below $71 a barrel Wednesday in Asia as an unexpected rise in U.S. crude supplies heightened investor concerns about weak consumer demand.
Benchmark crude for October delivery was down 35 cents to $70.58 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Tuesday, the contract rose $2.07 to settle at $70.93.
Crude prices have hugged the $70 level for months as gasoline demand remains sluggish amid signs the global economy is recovering.
On Tuesday, a SpendingPulse report by MasterCard showed the four-week average for gasoline consumption in the U.S. fell 3.2 percent for the week ended Friday, the ninth straight weekly decline.
U.S. oil inventories rose last week, more evidence demand remains tepid, the American Petroleum Institute said late Tuesday. Crude stocks increased 631,000 barrels while analysts had expected a drop of 3.0 million barrels, according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.
Supplies of gasoline grew 1.3 million barrels while distillates jumped 5.2 million barrels, the API said.
A weakening U.S. dollar has helped support oil prices. The euro rose Wednesday in Asian trading to $1.4675 from $1.4656 the previous day while the dollar held near 91 yen.
In other Nymex trading, gasoline for October delivery fell 1.87 cents to $1.77 a gallon, and heating oil slid 1.90 cents to $1.76 a gallon. Natural gas jumped 9.2 cents to $3.41 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent crude rose 2 cents to $67.37.
Oil Prices Stay On A Point was first posted on September 16, 2009 at 3:03 pm.
©2009 “News Trends“.
