The dollar sank to a record low versus the Swiss franc and Treasuries fell as President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner struggled to agree on the U.S. debt limit. Asian stocks rebounded as companies from Canon Inc. to Baidu Inc. forecast improving earnings. The U.S. currency slid 0.5 percent against the Swiss franc as of 1:25 p.m. in Tokyo and weakened below 78 yen for the first time since March. Ten-year Treasury yields advanced two basis points. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index jumped 1.1 percent, while Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures rose 0.2 percent. Gold traded near a record high, and copper snapped a four-day loss. Obama called on lawmakers to put politics aside to reach a deal on a “balanced approach” to lifting the U.S.’s $14.3 trillion debt ceiling, while Boehner said the president “wants a blank check” to continue spending. Stocks rose as Canon lifted its profit estimate 18 percent and Baidu, the owner of China’s most popular Internet-search engine, forecast sales that beat analyst estimates. Central banks from South Korea and Australia also signaled growth in the Asia Pacific may improve. “From the two speeches we’ve heard, it doesn’t seem like they’re on the doorstep of coming up with a deal,” Stephen Halmarick, the Sydney-based head of investment markets research at Colonial First State Global Asset Management, which oversees about $150 billion, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. “Markets will remain fairly nervous.” The Dollar Index, which tracks the U.S. currency against those of six major trading partners, dropped 0.5 percent, set for the lowest close since June 7. The greenback traded at 80.23 Swiss centimes and earlier touched 80.06, the weakest on record. The U.S. currency dropped to 77.90 yen, the lowest level since March 17, before trading at 78.04 yen. Compromise Needed Obama, in an address from the White House, said he remains confident the stalemate over raising the debt ceiling can be resolved if both sides compromise. Ten-year Treasury yields were at 3.02 percent. They increased four basis points yesterday. Futures on the S&P 500 earlier dropped as much as 0.5 percent. The gauge sank 0.6 percent yesterday as the political impasse intensified. Baidu, which trades on the Nasdaq Stock Market, jumped in extended trading after saying third-quarter revenue will rise to between 3.95 billion yuan ($613 million) and 4.05 billion yuan in the three months to Sept. 30. That beat all 11 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Lockheed Martin Corp., Ford Motor Co. and United Parcel Service Inc. are among companies scheduled to release their results today in the U.S. Stocks Rebound About seven shares climbed for every three that declined on MSCI’s Asia Pacific Index, helping the gauge recover from yesterday’s 1 percent drop. That was the steepest loss since July 12. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 0.7 percent, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rallied 0.9 percent, while Taiwan’s Taiex index advanced 0.9 percent. Kao Corp. surged 4.9 percent after the maker of household products boosted its full-year net income outlook. CSR Corp. sank 3.6 percent in Shanghai, extending yesterday’s 8.9 percent loss, amid concern a fatal high-speed train crash will slow China’s infrastructure spending and economic growth. Canon jumped 3.2 percent. “Generally, corporate are fine,” said Christopher Wong, a Singapore-based senior investment manager at Aberdeen Asset Management Asia Ltd., which oversees more than $94.3 billion of regional equities. “Still, sentiment is weak. There are a lot of issues around the world so we’ve just got to take each day as it comes.” Won, Aussie The won rose 0.4 percent to 1,051.93 per dollar. Bank of Korea Deputy Governor Kim Jae Chun said the economy’s growth will pick up in the second half and exports are “pretty strong,” leaving room to concentrate on quelling inflation. The Australian dollar gained against 12 of its 16 most-active peers after Reserve Bank Governor Glenn Stevens said the nation’s subdued household spending will likely rebound “at some point” as consumers gain confidence in the sustainability of mining-led growth. The Markit iTraxx Australia index climbed 2.5 basis points to 118 basis points, while the Markit iTraxx Asia index of 50 investment-grade borrowers outside Japan rose two basis points to 117 basis points, according to Credit Agricole CIB prices. The Markit iTraxx Japan index increased 1.5 basis points to 120 basis points, Deutsche Bank AG prices show. Immediate-delivery gold rose as much as 0.2 percent to $1,616.68. Bullion reached an all-time high of $1,624.07 yesterday. Cash silver gained for a third day, advancing 0.5 percent to $40.5363 an ounce. Copper on the London Metal Exchange added 1 percent to $9,751.75 a metric ton. More than 200,000 South African gold miners will join coal and diamond mine workers in a strike this week after failing to reach agreement with producers over pay talks, the National Union of Mineworkers said. A strike at BHP Billiton Ltd.’s Escondida copper mine in Chile, the world’s largest, enters a fifth day today and stoppages at some of BHP’s Australian steelmaking coal mines are set to resume tomorrow. To contact the reporter on this story: Shiyin Chen in Singapore at schen37@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alexander Kwiatkowski at akwiatkowsk2@bloomberg.net

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