BLBG:Asian Stocks Rise as Yen Drops on BOJ Stimulus Bets
Stocks rose, commodities advanced for the first time in five days and the yen weakened as results from BASF SE and Unilever NV beat estimates and Nikkei newspaper said the Bank of Japan will add to its stimulus policies. U.S. Treasury note yields jumped to a one-month high.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index (SXXP) added 0.6 percent at 6 a.m. in New York and Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures advanced 0.5 percent. The yen dropped at least 0.4 percent against all its 16 major peers. The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose five basis points to 1.84 percent, the highest since Sept. 17. The pound climbed 0.7 percent against the dollar after economic growth beat estimates. The S&P GSCI index of 24 raw materials increased 0.6 percent, with gasoline ending the longest slump since 1986.
BASF, the world’s biggest chemical maker, reiterated full- year goals for earnings and sales to gain, and Unilever, the second-largest consumer-goods company, reported third-quarter revenue grew, helped by sales in emerging markets. Japan’s central bank will consider increasing its asset-purchase program by 10 trillion yen ($125 billion) to 90 trillion yen at its Oct. 30 policy meeting, the Nikkei newspaper said. Britain reported economic growth of 1 percent in the third quarter, the first Group of Seven nation to release the data.
“With Europe still in recession, expectations of earnings have been moderate, so many companies beat estimates,” said Manish Singh, who helps oversee $2 billion of assets as head of investment at Crossbridge Capital in London. “Perhaps investors are ready to wait for things to get better. On the U.K. GDP, the initial cheer may be short lived. We won’t have an Olympics every quarter and we need more confirmation to feel the U.K. is out of recession.”
Logitech Forecast
More than two shares gained for every one that declined in the Stoxx 600. BASF increased 2.2 percent and Unilever rose 3.7 percent. Logitech International SA sank 7.8 percent after the biggest maker of computer mice forecast lower revenue and operating profit in their second half than a year earlier.
The gain in S&P 500 futures suggested the U.S. gauge will snap a two-day decline. Fifty-four companies in the index are scheduled to release results today, including Procter & Gamble Co., Colgate-Palmolive Co. and Apple Inc.
Third-quarter earnings at about 70 percent of S&P 500 members have beaten analysts’ estimates, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Sales missed forecasts at 59 percent of companies, the data showed.
A Commerce Department report at 8:30 a.m. in Washington may show orders for U.S. durable goods rose in September following the biggest plunge in three years as demand for airplanes rebounded. The projected 7.5 percent gain would fail to make up for a 13.2 percent slump in August, according to the median forecast of 77 economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
Jobless Claims
Other data at the same time may show claims for jobless benefits fell by 18,000 to 370,000 last week, according to the Bloomberg survey median. The National Association of Realtors’ index of pending home sales rose 2.5 percent last month after a 2.6 percent drop in August, economists said.
German 10-year bunds fell, pushing the yield six basis points higher to 1.61 percent, while credit-default swaps dropped for a fifth day, sliding 1.2 basis points to the lowest since March 2010. The rate on similar-maturity Spanish debt declined three basis points to 5.54 percent.
Greece will get a loan of as much as 20 billion euros ($26 billion) to supplement its second rescue package, Handelsblatt reported, citing a Memorandum of Understanding between the European Commission, ECB and International Monetary Fund.
The yen slid to its weakest level in four months against the dollar, depreciating 0.4 percent to 80.14 and touching 80.21. It dropped 0.7 percent against the euro. The 17-nation European currency strengthened 0.4 percent to $1.3008.
Record High
The yuan added 0.1 percent to 6.2417 versus the dollar, according to China Foreign Exchange Trade System, the strongest since the government unified the official and market exchange rates at the end of 1993.
The MSCI Emerging Markets Index (MXEF) rose 0.4 percent. India’s Sensex increased 0.4 percent and South Korea Kospi added 0.6 percent. Benchmark gauges in South Africa and Hungary advanced at least 0.4 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.7 percent as a leading indicator for China’s economy rose at a slower pace in September. Taiwan’s Taiex Index dropped 0.7 percent. Russia’s Micex Index slipped less than 0.1 percent.
Copper advanced 0.7 percent and oil gained 0.9 percent to $86.46 a barrel. Gasoline rose 0.9 percent after falling 12 percent the past 10 days, the longest losing streak since trading began on the New York Mercantile Exchange in 1986.
To contact the reporter on this story: Stephen Kirkland in London at skirkland@bloomberg.net; Jason Clenfield in Tokyo at jclenfield@bloomberg.net;
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stuart Wallace at Swallace6@bloomberg.net
