Asian stocks rose, with the regional
index following U.S. equities higher, while
Australia’s dollar
slid to a four-year low after data showed economic growth
unexpectedly slowed last quarter. Copper futures dropped with
gold as crude oil advanced.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 0.3 percent by 10:06 a.m.
in Tokyo, rising for a second day as
Japan’s
Topix index headed
for an almost seven-year high. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index
futures rose 0.1 percent after the U.S. gauge jumped 0.6
percent. The Aussie slipped to its lowest level since July 2010
and the Korean won sank 0.8 percent. Gold extended yesterday’s
1.1 percent drop as copper fell 0.3 percent in
London. West
Texas Intermediate oil rose for the second time in seven days.
Australia’s economy grew at less than half the pace
predicted by economists in the third quarter, slowing to 0.3
percent from the previous period. An official gauge of Chinese
services rose, with similar data for Japan and Europe also due.
Private jobs data in the U.S. today may help investors assess
the outlook for November payrolls figures, scheduled for Dec. 5.
Federal Reserve Vice Chairman
Stanley Fischer and
New York Fed
President William C. Dudley both stressed this week the positive
economic impact of crude’s slide to a five-year low.
“Most developed countries including the U.S., Europe and
Japan all benefit from lower
oil prices and it’s a big boost for
consumer companies and industrial companies because the cost of
business goes down,”
Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy
at AMP Capital Investors Ltd., which oversees more than $127
billion, said by phone from Sydney. “There’s greater confidence
in the U.S. with growth continuing there. Feelings of more
negative assessments in Europe and Japan have faded a little bit
and there’s more confidence about
China.”
Asian Stocks
The Topix climbed 0.9 percent, set for its highest close
since December 2007 as financial stocks and iron and steel
producers drove gains. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index added 0.8
percent, while the Kospi index in
Seoul advanced 0.4 percent.
Futures on the
Hang Seng Index in
Hong Kong were up 0.1
percent in most recent trading, and contracts on the Hang Seng
China Enterprises Index increased 0.3 percent. The gauge of
mainland Chinese shares listed in Hong Kong jumped 2.8 percent
yesterday, while the Bloomberg China-US Equity Index of the
most-traded Chinese companies in New York gained 1.5 percent.
China’s official non-manufacturing purchasing managers’
index climbed to 53.9 for November, from 53.8 the previous
month. A HSBC Holdings Plc/ Markit Economics China services
gauge is also due today. A government measure of manufacturing
in Asia’s largest economy released Dec. 1 dropped more than
economists projected to 50.3 for November, from 50.8 in the
previous month. Readings above 50 signal expansion.
Singapore Delayed
“China’s softer manufacturing PMI, including weaker export
orders, has sharpened market focus on the need for the services
sector to contribute to an increased share of overall economic
growth,” Ric Spooner, chief market analysts in Sydney at CMC
Markets, said in an e-mail.
Singapore Exchange Ltd. delayed the start of trading in the
city-state’s securities market by more than three hours, citing
a software error. It comes less than a month after SGX halted
trading for more than two hours Nov. 5 because of a power-supply
failure. Pre-open procedures will start at noon local time, with
continuous trading beginning at 12:30 p.m., according to a
regulatory filing from the bourse.
Australia’s dollar dropped for a fifth straight day,
declining as much as 0.6 percent to 83.92 U.S. cents. The
country’s gross domestic product expanded 0.3 percent last
quarter from the previous three months, when it rose 0.5 percent
quarter-on-quarter. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg predicted
growth of 0.7 percent. The
Reserve Bank of Australia kept its
key interest rate at a record low yesterday.
ADP Report
The won retreated to 1,115.60 per dollar, falling for the
third time in four days, while Malaysia’s ringgit slipped 0.5
percent to 3.4433 a dollar. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index,
which tracks the greenback against 10 major peers, was little
changed following yesterday’s 0.7 percent surge.
The
European Central Bank will review monetary policy
tomorrow, with President
Mario Draghi indicating the regulator
may broaden its asset-purchase program to include
government
bonds. The ADP Research Institute’s November U.S. payrolls
report today is projected to show employers added 222,000
workers last month, after a 230,000 increase in October.
Gold was little changed at $1,198.18 an ounce on the
spot
market after sinking 1.1 percent last session, when its 30-day
volatility climbed to the highest level in more than a year,
according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The precious metal
jumped 3.8 percent Dec. 1. Copper slipped to $6,391.50 a metric
ton on the London Metal Exchange.
Not Worried
While WTI is up 1.1 percent to $67.62 as barrel today, oil
is still stuck in a
bear market amid the highest U.S. output in
more than three decades and signs of slowing global demand. The
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, responsible for
about 40 percent of the world’s oil supply, resisted calls from
members including Venezuela and Iran to reduce its quota of 30
million barrels a day at a Nov. 27 meeting in Vienna.
“I’m not very worried,” Fed Vice Chairman Fischer told an
audience at the
Council on Foreign Relations. “The lower
inflation that we’ll get from the lower price of oil is going to
be temporary.”
Fischer also indicated the central bank was getting closer
to replacing its vow to hold key
interest rates low for a
“considerable time,” with guidance that tighter monetary
policy would hinge on the economy’s performance. The Fed’s Open
Market Committee next meets Dec. 16-17.
The Bloomberg Commodity Index sank 2 percent yesterday to
the lowest level since April 2009.
To contact the reporters on this story:
Emma O’Brien in Wellington at
eobrien6@bloomberg.net;
Yoshiaki Nohara in
Tokyo at
ynohara1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Emma O’Brien at
eobrien6@bloomberg.net
Garfield Reynolds
