BLBG:Asian Stocks Climb as Korean Won Advances With Gold, Platinum
Asian stocks gained for the first time in a week, while South Korea’s won climbed toward a 14- month high and platinum rose. Gold snapped a three-day drop as Deutsche Bank AG forecast global monetary easing will drive the metal above $2,000 an ounce next year.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 0.2 percent as of 2:22 p.m. in Tokyo as Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures rose 0.3 percent. Gold for immediate delivery advanced 0.2 percent to $1,728.03 and spot platinum traded 0.8 percent higher at $1,596.50. The won rose 0.3 percent, Japan’s yen weakened against all 16 major counterparts and China’s yuan reached a 19- year high.
Gold, bought as a hedge against inflation, will probably rally to a record next year as central banks ramp up stimulus, according to Raymond Key, the London-based global head of metals trading at Deutsche Bank. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index led gains among Asia’s benchmark stock indexes as China, the world’s second-biggest economy, announced a new Communist Party Central Committee from which government leaders will be drawn.
“Confidence is crucial,” said Jing Ulrich, Hong Kong- based chairwoman of global markets at the China division of JPMorgan Chase & Co. “The economy is beginning to stabilize. Maybe in the coming few months we’ll see corporate earnings recover.”
More shares rose than fell on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index. The Hang Seng Index climbed 0.8 percent, Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average was little changed and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index added 0.2 percent.
ICBC, Sharp
Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (1398) Ltd., the world’s biggest lender by market value, rose 2.4 percent in Hong Kong. Sharp Corp. (6753) surged 7.9 percent in Tokyo as Kyodo News reported Intel Corp. may invest as much as 40 billion yen ($500 million) in the Japanese TV maker. Iluka Resources (ILU) Ltd. fell 6.8 percent in Sydney after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. advised selling shares of the world’s largest zircon producer.
Gold advanced on concern that U.S. lawmakers will fail to reach an agreement on the budget by year-end, risking a recession and boosting the need for a protection of wealth.
“The best insurance policy you can have would be to accumulate gold,” said Gavin Wendt, senior resource analyst at Mine Life Pty in Sydney. “That will be more acknowledged as the deadline approaches,” he said, referring to $607 billion in automatic U.S. spending cuts and tax increases that may take effect in January.
Platinum rose for a fourth day after Johnson Matthey Plc, a precious metals refiner, predicted the biggest shortage of the metal in a decade. Labor disputes in South Africa will help cut output to the least since 2000 and leave the market short by 400,000 ounces, the most since 2002 and compared with last year’s surplus of 430,000 ounces, the London-based company said yesterday in a report.
Won, Yen
South Korea’s won reached 1,086.07 per dollar, near a 14- month high of 1,085.40 that was touched last week. Central bank Governor Kim Choong Soo said today the nation will see faster growth next year as the global economy improves, while the government reported the lowest jobless rate in four years.
The yen weakened 0.3 percent to 101.16 per euro amid speculation the Bank of Japan will act to rein in the currency’s strength, which is hurting exporters’ earnings. Kyodo News reported the government will downgrade its monthly economic assessment, which is due Nov. 16. China’s yuan was little changed at 6.2252 per dollar.
The euro gained 0.2 percent to $1.2726, rebounding from the lowest level in two months as a technical indicator signaled its recent decline may have been too rapid. The 14-day relative strength index for the euro versus the dollar fell to 33.4 yesterday, near the 30 level that some traders see as a sign that an asset price may reverse course.
China’s 18th Party Congress drew to a close today. Vice President Xi Jinping and Vice Premier Li Keqiang were reappointed to the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee, positioning them to take over the country’s top two posts.
To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Chua Baizhen in Beijing at bchua14@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Regan at jregan19@bloomberg.net
