BLBG:Stocks Advance With Copper on China Growth as Bond Rise
Global stocks rose for a third day, extending a five-year high, and copper climbed after China’s economic growth quickened. Treasury 10-year note yields fell to a two-month low.
The MSCI All-Country World Index advanced 0.2 percent to 394.26, the highest since May 2008, at 9:50 a.m. in London. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (SPX) futures added 0.2 percent. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes fell four basis points to 2.55 percent, the lowest since Aug. 12, with high-yield credit risk dropping to the lowest since January 2008 in Europe. China’s yuan headed for the best week in a year. Copper climbed 0.7 percent, extending the biggest weekly gain in a month.
China’s gross domestic product expanded 7.8 percent last quarter, the statistics bureau said in Beijing today, matching the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of economists and halting a two-quarter slowdown. Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans said yesterday the U.S. shouldn’t reduce stimulus after some reports stopped during a 16-day government shutdown. General Electric Co. and Morgan Stanley are among S&P 500 companies scheduled to report earnings today.
“China’s economic growth is stabilizing and that added more confidence into markets going into next year,” said Caroline Maurer, a Singapore-based fund manager at Henderson Global Investors, which oversees $110 billion of assets. “We are also likely to see some impact to the U.S. fourth-quarter data because of the shutdown, which could mean any Fed tapering is likely to be put off a bit later.”
Fed Speakers
Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker is scheduled to speak today, as is his New York counterpart William Dudley and four other Fed policy makers.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index increased 0.3 percent. The gauge has climbed for seven straight days, the longest winning streak this year.
Schindler Holding AG (SCHP) jumped 4.9 percent, the most since September 2011, after the Swiss maker of elevators said it will buy back shares. Grifols SA slipped 3 after Alken Asset Management LLP sold a 2.7 percent stake in Europe’s biggest maker of blood-plasma products.
The gain in S&P 500 futures indicated the U.S. gauge will extend an all-time high. Google Inc. rallied 8 percent in pre-market New York trading as the world’s largest Internet search engine reported sales that topped estimates.
Among 87 companies that have reported quarterly results so far, 72 percent exceeded profit estimates while 57 percent beat sales projections, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Emerging Markets
The MSCI Emerging Markets Index gained 0.5 percent, extending its weekly advance to 1.6 percent. India’s S&P BSE Sensex climbed 2 percent, snapping a two-day decline, and benchmark gauges in Taiwan, Thailand and the Philippines added at least 0.7 percent.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (HSCEI) of mainland companies listed in Hong Kong rose 0.6 percent and the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.2 percent. The yuan climbed touched a 20-year high after the People’s Bank of China boosted its fixing, advancing 0.4 percent this week, the most since the five days ended September 2012.
The dollar was little changed at $1.3683 per euro after reaching $1.3692, the weakest since Feb. 1. It has dropped 1 percent since Oct. 11, the most since the period ended Sept. 20. The U.S. currency was little changed at 97.88 yen. The euro was at 133.94 yen.
Germany’s 10-year bond yield fell two basis points to 1.84 percent and the rate on similar-maturity U.K. gilts dropped three basis points to 2.72 percent.
Default Risk
The cost of insuring against losses on corporate debt fell, with the Markit iTraxx Crossover Index of credit-default swaps on 50 high-yield companies dropping 6 basis points to 347 basis points, taking the weekly decline to 24 basis points. The Markit iTraxx Europe Index of swaps on 125 companies with investment-grade ratings fell 1.5 basis points to 86 basis points, the lowest since April 2010.
Copper for three-month delivery traded as high as $7,280 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange, poised for a weekly advance of 1.1 percent. Gold was little changed at $1,320.36 an ounce in London, poised for a weekly gain of 3.8 percent, the best weekly performance in two months.
Wheat climbed 0.9 percent to $6.925 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade, gaining for a second day, on speculation the pace of exports from the U.S. will be sustained. West Texas Intermediate crude oil was unchanged at $100.67 per barrel, after touching a three-month low yesterday.
----With assistance from Emma O’Brien in Wellington, John McCluskey in Sydney and Jonathan Burgos in Singapore, John Deane, Paul Dobson, Andrew Rummer and Shelley Smith in London. Editors: Stephen Kirkland, Stuart Wallace
To contact the reporters on this story: Stephen Kirkland in London at skirkland@bloomberg.net; David Yong in Singapore at dyong@bloomberg.net;
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stuart Wallace at Swallace6@bloomberg.net
