Asian Stocks Rise After Weekly Loss as Yen Weakens, Crude Drops Asian stocks rose, following the benchmark index’s steepest weekly loss in two months, and the yen weakened against all its peers. Malaysia’s ringgit jumped the most in three weeks, while crude retreated. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 0.5 percent at 9:28 a.m. in Tokyo. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures added 0.2 percent after the gauge climbed to a record. Japan’s Topix rose 0.8 percent as the yen slipped 0.1 percent versus the dollar. The ringgit strengthened 0.8 percent after Prime Minister Najib Razak announced measures to rein in the budget deficit. Oil fell 0.3 percent in New York. Consumer confidence in South Korea rose this month to the highest since May 2012, a central bank survey showed. The U.S. will report industrial output today, data that may shed light on when the Federal Reserve will begin scaling back monetary stimulus. Consumer sentiment in the world’s biggest economy dropped to a 10-month low, a private report showed Oct. 25. “We are in a liquidity-fueled stock boom,” Matthew Sherwood, head of investment markets research in Sydney at Perpetual Investments, which manages about $25 billion, said in an e-mail. “Rising valuations have never stopped overheating markets, so the market rise could be extended, as long as central bank stimulus remains in place.” Komatsu Ltd. and China Telecom Corp. are among Asian companies scheduled to report earnings today, while Apple Inc. is also due to announce results. Of 99 companies in MSCI’s Asian index that have provided quarterly results this earnings season and for which Bloomberg compiles estimates, 54 posted profit that fell short of forecasts and 56 missed sales projections. Stock Valuations Futures on Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.3 percent in their most recent trading session. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index has climbed 2.4 percent this month, pushing its price-earnings multiple to 12.7 times estimated profit, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That compares with 14.8 times for the S&P 500 and 13.4 times for the Stoxx Europe 600 Index. The Bloomberg-China U.S. Equity Index slid 1.2 percent on Oct. 25. Chinese brokerages are betting the biggest jump in money-market rates since June’s record cash crunch is a sign of strength in the nation’s economy rather than finance-industry weakness. The central bank has refrained from injecting funds into the banking system since Oct. 17, driving the benchmark seven-day repurchase rate 138 basis points higher to 4.88 percent last week, the biggest increase in four months. The one-year swap contract, the fixed payment needed to lock in the repo rate for 12 months, rose 11 basis points to 4.08 percent, reflecting expectations for a gradual increase in borrowing costs. That compares with a 5.06 percent peak in June, when investors were concerned overstretched banks would default on payments. U.S. Rally U.S. stocks completed a third week of gains on Oct. 25 as earnings beat estimates and weak economic data fueled speculation the Fed will delay reducing stimulus. A two-day meeting at the Federal Open Market Committee will start tomorrow after U.S payrolls rose less than projected last month and the 16-day government shutdown took at least $24 billion out of the economy. The Fed is likely to delay lowering its $85 billion in monthly bond purchases until March, according to a Bloomberg News survey of economists conducted Oct. 17-18.
Posted on: Mon, 28 Oct 2013 13:53:54 +0000
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