Japanese index futures climbed, signaling the nation’s stock gauges may extend weekly gains, as the yen held declines on the outlook for continued U.S. economic stimulus and after the biggest banks reported higher profits. Crude oil and copper futures advanced.
Nikkei 225 Stock Average futures were bid at 15,050 in the Osaka pre-market, from 15,065 in Chicago and 14,820 in Japan yesterday. Contracts on gauges in South Korea and Hong Kong rose while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 0.2 percent by 10:34 a.m. in Sydney. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures were little changed. The yen held above 100 per dollar while Australian bonds rose a third day. Copper futures in New York and West Texas Intermediate oil gained 0.2 percent as platinum rose.
Federal Reserve chairman nominee Janet Yellen signaled during her Senate confirmation hearing that she’ll maintain the record stimulus that has stoked global asset gains and suppressed borrowing costs until the U.S. economy is stronger. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index is set to snap a three-week slump this week, while Japan’s Topix Index is headed for its largest weekly jump since September. Malaysia and Hong Kong issue economic growth data today and Singapore posts retail sales.
Yellen “provided a staunch defense about the use of asset purchase programs and stated that U.S. Fed policy would remain in place while the U.S. economy remains fragile,” Matthew Sherwood, head of investment markets research in Sydney at Perpetual Investments, which manages about $25 billion, said in an e-mail. “This wasn’t just music to the ears of stimulus hungry investors, it was like listening to Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.”
[h=2]Hong Kong[/h]Contracts on Hong Kong’s Hang Seng China Enterprises Index rose 0.3 percent in their most recent trading session while futures on the Hang Seng Index were little changed. Futures on the Kospi Index in Seoul climbed 0.2 percent. The Bloomberg China-US Equity Index of the most-traded Chinese stocks in New York rose 0.7 percent. Indian markets are closed for a holiday today.
The Topix has rallied 3.6 percent this week in Tokyo, the most since the first week of September. The Nikkei 225, up 5.6 percent in the week, may retreat today because its gains have outpaced the broader Topix, according to Resona Bank Ltd.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. (8306), Japan’s biggest bank, raised its fiscal-year net income target by 20 percent yesterday after saying first-half profit jumped 83 percent. Mizuho Financial Group Inc. increased its annual forecast by 20 percent even as it grapples with a regulatory probe into loans to criminal groups. First-half profit more than doubled.
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. (8316), the no. 2 Japanese bank, raised its forecast by 29 percent Nov. 12 after first-half profit surged to a record.
[h=2]Yen Slide[/h]The yen, viewed by some investors as a safe haven, is the biggest decliner against the greenback over the past five days, weakening 1.1 percent, and set for a third consecutive weekly slump. Japan’s currency was little changed at 100.13 per dollar today after weakening 0.8 percent yesterday to touch a two-month low.
Most Asian currencies have retreated versus the dollar over the past five days, with Indonesia’s rupiah losing the most, down more than 1.1 percent even after the central bank unexpectedly increased benchmark interest rates Nov. 12.
Yellen said during her hearing that it’s important policy makers not remove support for the U.S. economy too soon given the limited range of tools available to the Fed, which has to promote a “very strong recovery.”
[h=2]Fed Survey[/h]“Supporting the recovery today is the surest path to returning to a more normal approach to monetary policy,” she said in her testimony to the Senate Banking Committee. A “strong recovery will ultimately enable the Fed to reduce its monetary accommodation and reliance on unconventional policy tools such as asset purchases.”
The Federal Open Market Committee will probably wait to taper its bond buying to $70 billion at its March 18-19 meeting from current pace of $85 billion a month, according to the median estimate of 32 economists in a Bloomberg survey Nov. 8.
Australian government bonds due in a decade yielded 4.18 percent today, down two basis points, or 0.02 percentage point.
The difference between five-year and 10-year Treasury yields widened to 1.37 percentage points in New York, the most in two years, on speculation the Fed’s target interest rate may be lower for longer under a Yellen-led Fed, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
[h=2]Moody’s Cuts[/h]Thirty-year Treasury yields slipped three basis points to 3.79 percent yesterday, paring gains after a $16 billion sale of the debt drew lower-than-average demand. Inflation control is important and the U.S. central bank’s stimulus program “will not continue indefinitely,” Yellen testified.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 0.5 percent in New York, reaching an all-time high for a second day, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average also extended its record.
Moody’s Investors Service cut senior holding company ratings of Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of New York Mellon Corp. after the close of U.S. trading.
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO:US) plunged 11 percent for its biggest drop since February 2011. The world’s largest maker of computer-networking equipment forecast its first quarterly sales decline in four years. Office Depot Inc. gained 4.5 percent after Bank of America Corp. recommended investors buy the stock.
[h=2]Jobless Claims[/h]U.S. jobless claims in the week ended Nov. 9 declined 2,000 to 339,000 from a revised 341,000 the week before that was higher than initially reported, according to the Labor Department. The median forecast of 51 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a drop to 330,000. Applications for five states were estimated because the Veterans Day holiday shortened the week, the Labor Department said.
The S&P 500 has surged more than 25 percent in 2013, poised for its best yearly gain in a decade. The U.S. benchmark trades for 16.9 times member companies’ reported earnings, the highest valuation since May 2010, and has rebounded 163 percent from a 12-year low reached in March 2009, adding more than $10 trillion in market value.
Asked about stock prices during her confirmation hearing, Yellen said she doesn’t see “bubble-like conditions” in the U.S. market.
“Stock prices have risen pretty robustly but if you look at traditional measures,” such as price-earnings ratios, “you would not see stock prices in territory that suggests bubble-like conditions,” she said.
[h=2]Philippine Economy[/h]The MSCI Emerging Markets Index jumped 1.2 percent yesterday, ending a 10-day slump, the longest in seven years.
The Philippines Stock Exchange (PCOMP) is headed for a second weekly decline, losing 0.4 percent, while the peso has weakened 0.9 percent versus the greenback.
Economic growth in the Southeast Asian nation may be cut by as much as 0.8 percentage point based on preliminary estimates of damage from Typhoon Haiyan, Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said in a mobile-phone message. The storm may have killed as many as 10,000 people as islands were flooded and crops damaged, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
Growth in Hong Kong’s economy probably slowed to 3.2 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, after rising 3.3 percent in the previous three months, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists. Malaysian growth probably accelerated for a second quarter, with gross domestic product rising 4.7 percent in the three months to Sept. 30, from 4.3 percent in the prior period, a separate survey showed.
[h=2]Commodity Moves[/h]The S&P GSCI commodity index rose for a second day in the U.S., adding 0.5 percent as gold and silver drove gains.
Gold rose 0.1 percent to $1,287.82 an ounce today after rallying the past two days. The gains trimmed its third straight weekly drop to 0.1 percent. Silver was steady at $20.7730 an ounce after jumping 0.8 percent yesterday. The precious metal has slumped 3.4 percent this week, the most since September. Platinum rose 0.2 percent today.
WTI oil climbed to $94.03 a barrel after falling 0.1 percent yesterday. It is still on course for a sixth consecutive weekly decline, dropping 0.6 percent.
To contact the reporters on this story: Emma O’Brien in Wellington at [email protected]; Adam Haigh in Sydney at [email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Emma O’Brien at [email protected]
Nikkei 225 Stock Average futures were bid at 15,050 in the Osaka pre-market, from 15,065 in Chicago and 14,820 in Japan yesterday. Contracts on gauges in South Korea and Hong Kong rose while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 0.2 percent by 10:34 a.m. in Sydney. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures were little changed. The yen held above 100 per dollar while Australian bonds rose a third day. Copper futures in New York and West Texas Intermediate oil gained 0.2 percent as platinum rose.
Federal Reserve chairman nominee Janet Yellen signaled during her Senate confirmation hearing that she’ll maintain the record stimulus that has stoked global asset gains and suppressed borrowing costs until the U.S. economy is stronger. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index is set to snap a three-week slump this week, while Japan’s Topix Index is headed for its largest weekly jump since September. Malaysia and Hong Kong issue economic growth data today and Singapore posts retail sales.
Yellen “provided a staunch defense about the use of asset purchase programs and stated that U.S. Fed policy would remain in place while the U.S. economy remains fragile,” Matthew Sherwood, head of investment markets research in Sydney at Perpetual Investments, which manages about $25 billion, said in an e-mail. “This wasn’t just music to the ears of stimulus hungry investors, it was like listening to Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.”
[h=2]Hong Kong[/h]Contracts on Hong Kong’s Hang Seng China Enterprises Index rose 0.3 percent in their most recent trading session while futures on the Hang Seng Index were little changed. Futures on the Kospi Index in Seoul climbed 0.2 percent. The Bloomberg China-US Equity Index of the most-traded Chinese stocks in New York rose 0.7 percent. Indian markets are closed for a holiday today.
The Topix has rallied 3.6 percent this week in Tokyo, the most since the first week of September. The Nikkei 225, up 5.6 percent in the week, may retreat today because its gains have outpaced the broader Topix, according to Resona Bank Ltd.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. (8306), Japan’s biggest bank, raised its fiscal-year net income target by 20 percent yesterday after saying first-half profit jumped 83 percent. Mizuho Financial Group Inc. increased its annual forecast by 20 percent even as it grapples with a regulatory probe into loans to criminal groups. First-half profit more than doubled.
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. (8316), the no. 2 Japanese bank, raised its forecast by 29 percent Nov. 12 after first-half profit surged to a record.
[h=2]Yen Slide[/h]The yen, viewed by some investors as a safe haven, is the biggest decliner against the greenback over the past five days, weakening 1.1 percent, and set for a third consecutive weekly slump. Japan’s currency was little changed at 100.13 per dollar today after weakening 0.8 percent yesterday to touch a two-month low.
Most Asian currencies have retreated versus the dollar over the past five days, with Indonesia’s rupiah losing the most, down more than 1.1 percent even after the central bank unexpectedly increased benchmark interest rates Nov. 12.
Yellen said during her hearing that it’s important policy makers not remove support for the U.S. economy too soon given the limited range of tools available to the Fed, which has to promote a “very strong recovery.”
[h=2]Fed Survey[/h]“Supporting the recovery today is the surest path to returning to a more normal approach to monetary policy,” she said in her testimony to the Senate Banking Committee. A “strong recovery will ultimately enable the Fed to reduce its monetary accommodation and reliance on unconventional policy tools such as asset purchases.”
The Federal Open Market Committee will probably wait to taper its bond buying to $70 billion at its March 18-19 meeting from current pace of $85 billion a month, according to the median estimate of 32 economists in a Bloomberg survey Nov. 8.
Australian government bonds due in a decade yielded 4.18 percent today, down two basis points, or 0.02 percentage point.
The difference between five-year and 10-year Treasury yields widened to 1.37 percentage points in New York, the most in two years, on speculation the Fed’s target interest rate may be lower for longer under a Yellen-led Fed, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
[h=2]Moody’s Cuts[/h]Thirty-year Treasury yields slipped three basis points to 3.79 percent yesterday, paring gains after a $16 billion sale of the debt drew lower-than-average demand. Inflation control is important and the U.S. central bank’s stimulus program “will not continue indefinitely,” Yellen testified.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 0.5 percent in New York, reaching an all-time high for a second day, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average also extended its record.
Moody’s Investors Service cut senior holding company ratings of Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of New York Mellon Corp. after the close of U.S. trading.
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO:US) plunged 11 percent for its biggest drop since February 2011. The world’s largest maker of computer-networking equipment forecast its first quarterly sales decline in four years. Office Depot Inc. gained 4.5 percent after Bank of America Corp. recommended investors buy the stock.
[h=2]Jobless Claims[/h]U.S. jobless claims in the week ended Nov. 9 declined 2,000 to 339,000 from a revised 341,000 the week before that was higher than initially reported, according to the Labor Department. The median forecast of 51 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a drop to 330,000. Applications for five states were estimated because the Veterans Day holiday shortened the week, the Labor Department said.
The S&P 500 has surged more than 25 percent in 2013, poised for its best yearly gain in a decade. The U.S. benchmark trades for 16.9 times member companies’ reported earnings, the highest valuation since May 2010, and has rebounded 163 percent from a 12-year low reached in March 2009, adding more than $10 trillion in market value.
Asked about stock prices during her confirmation hearing, Yellen said she doesn’t see “bubble-like conditions” in the U.S. market.
“Stock prices have risen pretty robustly but if you look at traditional measures,” such as price-earnings ratios, “you would not see stock prices in territory that suggests bubble-like conditions,” she said.
[h=2]Philippine Economy[/h]The MSCI Emerging Markets Index jumped 1.2 percent yesterday, ending a 10-day slump, the longest in seven years.
The Philippines Stock Exchange (PCOMP) is headed for a second weekly decline, losing 0.4 percent, while the peso has weakened 0.9 percent versus the greenback.
Economic growth in the Southeast Asian nation may be cut by as much as 0.8 percentage point based on preliminary estimates of damage from Typhoon Haiyan, Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said in a mobile-phone message. The storm may have killed as many as 10,000 people as islands were flooded and crops damaged, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
Growth in Hong Kong’s economy probably slowed to 3.2 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, after rising 3.3 percent in the previous three months, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists. Malaysian growth probably accelerated for a second quarter, with gross domestic product rising 4.7 percent in the three months to Sept. 30, from 4.3 percent in the prior period, a separate survey showed.
[h=2]Commodity Moves[/h]The S&P GSCI commodity index rose for a second day in the U.S., adding 0.5 percent as gold and silver drove gains.
Gold rose 0.1 percent to $1,287.82 an ounce today after rallying the past two days. The gains trimmed its third straight weekly drop to 0.1 percent. Silver was steady at $20.7730 an ounce after jumping 0.8 percent yesterday. The precious metal has slumped 3.4 percent this week, the most since September. Platinum rose 0.2 percent today.
WTI oil climbed to $94.03 a barrel after falling 0.1 percent yesterday. It is still on course for a sixth consecutive weekly decline, dropping 0.6 percent.
To contact the reporters on this story: Emma O’Brien in Wellington at [email protected]; Adam Haigh in Sydney at [email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Emma O’Brien at [email protected]