BS: Dollar Slips on Stimulus Bets; Corn, Soybeans Rise
Oct. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Stocks rose, sending benchmark U.S. indexes to five-month highs, and the dollar weakened after the Group of Seven industrialized nations did nothing to damp optimism central banks will step in to support economies. Corn, soybeans and sugar advanced.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 0.1 percent at 9:35 a.m. in New York and the Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 0.3 percent. The Dollar Index lost 0.1 percent to near a nine-month low. Corn rallied 7.6 percent, soybeans jumped 3.6 percent and sugar gained 2.8 percent. The extra yield investors demand to hold Greek 10-year bonds instead of benchmark German bunds fell to less than 700 basis points for the first time since June 22.
G-7 finance leaders failed to settle differences over currencies this weekend, turning to the International Monetary Fund to calm frictions. China was accused of undervaluing the yuan, while low interest rates in industrialized nations were blamed for flooding emerging markets with capital. The Federal Reserve will buy as much as $65 billion in Treasuries a month to stem job losses, Mansoor Mohi-uddin, head of global currency strategy at UBS AG, wrote in a report today.
“The market has traded very well recently as the Fed has shown increased sensitivity to the state of the economy, hinting it may do some quantitative easing,” said Michael Strauss, who helps oversee about $26 billion at Commonfund in Wilton, Connecticut. “The weakness in the dollar may have helped U.S. companies generate better international earnings in the third quarter. We think we will recover the market highs from earlier this year.”
Rally Extended
The S&P 500 added to last week’s 1.7 percent rally. Chesapeake Energy Corp. gained 2.8 percent as China’s Cnooc Ltd. agreed to pay $1.08 billion for a one-third stake in the U.S. company’s Eagle Ford shale project in Texas. Intel Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Google Inc. are among companies in the benchmark index due to report third-quarter results this week.
The Treasury market was closed for the Columbus Day holiday.
New York Fed President William Dudley, who has voiced support for more government bond purchases, will speak in Washington later today.
Two stocks rose for every one that fell in the Stoxx 600. Ladbrokes Plc advanced 2.5 percent as the U.K. bookmaker founded in 1886 said third-quarter operating profit more than doubled. Fertilizer makers Yara International ASA and Syngenta AG climbed more than 2 percent as corn and soybean futures rallied.
Chesapeake Energy
The MSCI Emerging Markets Index advanced for the first time in three days, climbing 0.5 percent. Turkey’s ISE National 100 Index rose 2.2 percent to a record after the government said it will cut its deficit more than earlier planned. Russia’s Micex Index increased 1 percent. The Shanghai Composite index jumped 2.5 percent. The gains came before Reuters reported China’s central bank unexpectedly raised reserve requirements for six large commercial lenders.
The yield on the 10-year Greek bond tumbled 49 basis points to 9.28 percent after IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss- Kahn said the institution is prepared to give the country more time to repay its loan should European nations, which provided the bulk of a joint 110 billion-euro ($153 billion) package, decide to do so first.
The cost of protecting against a default by Greece fell 36 basis points to 695, the lowest since May 31, according to data provider CMA. The Markit iTraxx SovX Western Europe Index of default swaps on 15 governments dropped about 3 basis points to 143, CMA said.
Grains led commodities higher, pushing the S&P GSCI index of 24 raw materials to a two-year high. Corn futures jumped as much as 8.5 percent, the most allowed by the Chicago Board of Trade, after the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s reduced crop forecast Oct. 9. Soybeans advanced to the highest level since June 2009, and sugar reached the highest price since Feb. 12.
The yen was little changed at 81.92 per dollar after appreciating earlier to 81.39, the strongest in 15 years. The dollar was little changed at $1.3934 per euro, after depreciating to $1.4012, near the lowest level since January.
--With assistance from Claudia Carpenter, Andrew Rummer, Michael Shanahan and Daniel Tilles in London. Editor: Michael P. Regan
To contact the reporter on this story: Stephen Kirkland in London at skirkland@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Paul Sillitoe in London at psillitoe@bloomberg.net