BLBG:Yen Weakens as Euro Gains With Spanish Bonds; Rio Falls
The yen weakened for the first time in three days and the euro gained after Japan’s economy minister said his currency has more room to weaken and investors prepared to buy Spanish bonds. European shares were little changed after Rio Tinto (RIO) Group announced $14 billion of writedowns.
Japan’s currency slid 0.4 percent against dollar at 9:35 a.m. London time, while the euro strengthened versus its 16 major peers. Spanish five-year notes rose as the nation prepared to auction as much as 4.5 billion euros ($6 billion) of securities at an auction. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index (SXXP) rose 0.1 percent as Rio Tinto, the world’s second-biggest mining company, dropped to a one-month low. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures increased less than 0.1 percent.
Economy Minister Akira Amari said the yen is still in the process of correcting from excessive gains and that his remarks earlier this week on yen weakness were misinterpreted. Sam Walsh will take over as Rio Tinto’s chief executive officer as Tom Albanese will step down and the company prepares to slash the value of acquisitions he oversaw by about $14 billion. U.S. housing starts rose to the fastest pace since 2008, a report today is forecast to show.
Thailand’s finance minister today said the baht is “not at a good level,” while a Russian central bank official yesterday said the world is on the brink of a “currency war.”
Euro Gains
The 17-nation euro gained 0.4 percent to $1.3348. The yen slid 0.6 percent to 88.92 per dollar. Spain’s five-year note yield fell four basis points to 3.79 percent.
Spanish two-year note yields slipped three basis points, or 0.03 percentage point, to 2.44 percent as the government prepares to sell as much as 4.5 billion euros ($5.99 billion) of debt.
Rio Tinto retreated 2.5 percent in London trading.
Carrefour SA, Delhaize Group SA (DELB) and Associated British Foods Plc led gains among retailers. Carrefour, France’s biggest retailer, climbed 6.2 percent and Delhaize, the owner of Food Lion supermarkets in the U.S., rallied 7.6 percent as fourth- quarter revenue increased. AB Foods advanced 5 percent as the U.K. sugar producer that owns Primark clothing stores reported a 10 percent gain in first-quarter sales.
ASML Holding NV slid 3.4 percent after Europe’s largest semiconductor-equipment supplier predicted 2013 sales trailing analysts’ estimates as quarterly orders fell 20 percent.
The MSCI Emerging Markets Index (MXEF) rose 0.1 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index slid 1.1 percent before a report on fourth-quarter growth figures tomorrow. India’s Sensex gained 0.7 percent as foreign investors added to their holdings of domestic shares for a 13th straight day. Russia’s Micex Index jumped 0.4 percent.
To contact the reporters on this story: Stephen Kirkland in London at skirkland@bloomberg.net; Richard Frost in Hong Kong at rfrost4@bloomberg.net;
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stuart Wallace at swallace6@bloomberg.net
