TM:Asian stocks shake off Wall Street shadow, dollar gains
TOKYO, Jan 17 — The dollar pushed higher today and Asian stocks clawed their way off session lows, moving past downbeat results on Wall Street as some investors wagered that upcoming US data will paint an optimistic picture of the world’s largest economy.
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, held its ground on the day, adding 0.1 per cent at 80.949.
The dollar was flat on the day against the yen at ÂĄ104.34, though it held well off a four-week low of 102.85 set on Monday. Against the euro, the dollar edged up to US$1.3615.
“European markets should open on a flat to positive footing, with plenty for traders to focus on,” said IG chief market strategist Chris Weston.
The batch of data due later in the session include December US housing starts, building permits, industrial production and the University of Michigan sentiment index.
Financial spread-betters predicted Britain’s FTSE 100 and France’s CAC 40 to each rise as much as 0.3 per cent, and Germany’s DAX 0.2 per cent.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan managed to erase an earlier drop and tack on 0.2 per cent, while Australian shares pared losses to end down 0.1 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei index ended off its session lows, down 0.1 per cent.
Yesterday’s US data showed consumer prices rose the most in six months in December, in line with expectations, and the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell for a second week last week. But the Philadelphia Fed’s index of business conditions in the US Mid-Atlantic region fell to its lowest level since April.
Markets were caught off-guard a week ago when payroll numbers showed US jobs growth unexpectedly weakened. But subsequent upbeat data, including robust consumer spending, dispelled some of the concerns.
Investors initially reduced positions today before a three-day weekend in the United States, where markets are closed on Monday for a public holiday, said Norihiro Fujito, a senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities in Tokyo
Yesterday, the Standard & Poor’s 500 backed away from a record high struck in the previous session, after disappointing earnings from banks including Goldman Sachs and Citigroup Inc, though some noted that the broader impact was limited.
“The market has not made much of the news with regard to global growth, though, as oil prices remained broadly unchanged and non-financial stocks broadly outperformed,” strategists at Barclays said in a note to clients.
US crude futures rose 0.2 per cent to US$94.10 a barrel, not far from a two-week peak of US$94.64 reached earlier this week after US government data showed a larger-than-expected drop in inventories. They were set to post their first weekly gain in three weeks.
But Brent crude fell 0.2 per cent to US$105.51 a barrel, on track for a weekly decline of 1.7 per cent.
Gold was steady, slightly higher at US$1,243.80 an ounce in the wake of the brighter U. data.
Meanwhile, the Australian dollar slumped 0.1 per cent to US$0.8813, after it shed more than 1 per cent yesterday to US$0.8777 — a low not seen since August 2010. Traders said good buying interest below 88 US cents should provide some support for now.
The Aussie plunged after news Australia’s economy shed 22,600 jobs in December, when economists had expected a small increase. — Reuters
