BLBG:Asia Stocks Rise, Led by India Shares; Oil Falls
Asian stocks and emerging-market currencies rose as a decline in oil eased concern that inflation pressure will derail economic stimulus policies.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 0.2 percent as of 2:13 p.m. in Tokyo after falling as much as 0.3 percent. India’s Sensex advanced 1.3 percent and Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures added 0.1 percent. Malaysia’s ringgit rose 0.5 percent and the South Korean won appreciated 0.2 percent against the dollar. Oil retreated 0.5 percent to $108.04 a barrel.
“A high oil price would be a negative for India in the long term, but as long as it doesn’t exceed $130, it shouldn’t have too significant an impact on the budget deficit and inflation numbers,” Khiem Do, Hong Kong-based head of multiasset strategy at Baring Asset Management Ltd., which oversees $46 billion, said by phone today.
The euro gained 0.3 percent to $1.3431. The European Central Bank is preparing to issue a second round of unlimited three-year loans to help shore up the region’s banks. U.S. economic data may show orders for durable goods fell in January, while consumer confidence improved this month. Elpida Memory Inc., which has been unprofitable in each of the past five quarters, filed Japan’s biggest bankruptcy in two years.
To contact the reporters on this story: Lynn Thomasson in Hong Kong at lthomasson@bloomberg.net;
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Sandy Hendry at shendry@bloomberg.net
