Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average futures advanced after sales of existing homes in the U.S. unexpectedly rose, boosting confidence consumption in the biggest market for Japanese manufactures will weather an economic slowdown.
U.S.-traded receipts of Canon Inc., the world's biggest digital-camera maker, climbed 1.8 percent from the closing share price in Tokyo yesterday. Komatsu Ltd., the world's second- biggest maker of earthmoving equipment, advanced 1.5 percent, while Sony Corp. added 1.7 percent.
Investors' sentiment is improving, Mamoru Shimode, Tokyo-based chief equity strategist at Deutsche Securities Inc., said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. For stocks to continue rallying, the market needs more positive news from the macroeconomics side.
Nikkei 225 Stock Average futures expiring in June last traded at 12,685 in Chicago, 2.2 percent higher than the close of 12,410 in Osaka and Singapore yesterday. The Bank of New York Japan ADR Index, which tracks American depositary receipts of Japanese companies, added 2.9 percent.
Yesterday, the Topix index edged up 0.3 percent to 1,224.15, while the Nikkei was little changed at 12,480.09 in Tokyo. Almost the same number of stocks rose and fell on the Topix.
Purchases of existing homes rose 2.9 percent to an annual rate of 5.03 million in February, the National Association of Realtors said yesterday in Washington, surpassing an estimated 4.85 million. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index jumped 1.5 percent to the highest in almost a month.
Elsewhere, land prices in Japan rose for a second year in 2007, according to a government report released yesterday after the market shut. Prices increased 1.7 percent on average after climbing 0.4 percent a year earlier, as private funds and real- estate investment trusts snapped up properties in large cities.
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Monday, March 24, 2008
Japan's Stock Futures Rise as U.S. Home Sales Unexpectedly Gain
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Asian Stocks Gain
Asian stocks rose, helping a regional index to its best weekly gain in two months, after copper prices climbed to a one-week high and Credit Suisse Group raised its recommendation on some Japanese steelmakers.
BHP Billiton Ltd., the world's largest mining company, climbed to a three-week high. JFE Holdings Inc., the world's third-largest steelmaker, jumped the most in two months.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 0.6 percent to 161.64 as of 10:02 a.m. in Tokyo, set for its highest close since Nov. 15. A measure of mining companies and steelmakers jumped 1.5 percent, the biggest advance among 10 industry groups.
The benchmark has gained 4.4 percent this week, the most since the five days ended Sept. 28. Gains helped trim the MSCI index's November loss to 6.1 percent, its worst monthly performance since May 2006.
Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 0.7 percent to 15,623.06. Benchmarks climbed in other markets open for trading, Except New Zealand. The Philippines is closed for a holiday today.
Most U.S. stocks dropped yesterday, halting a two-day rally, after Sears Holdings Corp. reported lower profit and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said banks' losses on home-equity loans may double in 2008. More than three stocks fell for every two that rose on the New York Stock Exchange.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said volatility in credit markets has affected the economy's prospects and policy makers must decide whether the risks between growth and inflation have shifted. He spoke a day after remarks by Vice Chairman Donald Kohn fueled speculation the central bank will lower interest rates for a third straight meeting on Dec. 11.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Asian Stocks Drop for First Time in Three Days
Asian stocks fell for the first time in three days, led by Samsung Electronics Co., after South Korea's President agreed to an independent probe of corruption allegations involving the country's biggest company.
HSBC Holdings Plc dropped from a one-week high in Hong Kong after Goldman, Sachs & Co. said Europe's biggest bank may have to write down $12 billion more for bad debts. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Japan's biggest publicly traded lender, reversed earlier losses after Citigroup Inc. said it will raise $7.5 billion by selling a stake to an Abu Dhabi government fund.
There's not much hopeful talk in the market, said Eom Giyo, who helps manage the equivalent of $3.2 billion at Woori Credit Suisse Asset Management Co. in Seoul. Writedowns are increasing at financial institutions, and now we hear allegations of bad accounting at Samsung Group.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.9 percent to 157.02 as of 1:29 p.m. in Tokyo, trimming an earlier decline of as much as 2.1 percent. The benchmark rose 3 percent in the previous two sessions.
Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average slipped 0.6 percent to 15,044.96, after earlier sliding as much as 2.2 percent. Sony Corp. jumped after sales of its PlayStation 3 video-game console more than tripled last week as price cuts drew customers after the Thanksgiving holiday.
Benchmarks declined in other markets open for trading, except for New Zealand.
U.S. stocks fell yesterday, sending the Standard & Poor's 500 Index to its biggest drop in more than two weeks. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the largest U.S. mortgage-finance companies, tumbled after UBS AG said higher credit costs will cause earnings growth to slow.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Japanese Stocks May Drop for an Eighth Day on Yen Strength
Japanese stocks may drop for an eighth day, led by exporters and lenders, after the yen strengthened and an analyst said E*Trade Financial Corp. may go bankrupt, pointing to increased subprime losses in the U.S.
Mazda Motor Corp., which exports 80 percent of its domestic production, and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., the nation's No. 3 publicly traded bank, may pace the drop.
Shares of E*Trade, a U.S. online brokerage, lost more than half their value yesterday after a Citigroup Inc. analyst said there is a 15 percent chance the company will seek protection from creditors because of investments in asset-backed securities. The yen climbed to the highest since May 2006 against the dollar.
Mitsubishi Corp. may drop after the price of oil slid 1.8 percent to the lowest close in a week, while copper and gold prices also tumbled.
Investors are not going to be able to escape the negative impact on sentiment from what is happening in the U.S., said Terunobu Kinoshita, who helps manage $785 million at Fund Creation Co. in Tokyo. Just as some experts expect oil to keep rising, there is also the real possibility we may see oil prices fall to $60.
Nikkei 225 Stock Average futures expiring in December last traded in Chicago at 15,015, down from the close of 15,230 in Osaka and 15,165 in Singapore yesterday. The Bank of New York Japan ADR Index, which tracks the nation's American depositary receipts, slipped 0.2 percent.
Yen Strength
Yesterday, the Nikkei tumbled 2.5 percent to 15,197.09 and the Topix index dropped 2.5 percent to 1,456.40, the lowest in more than two years.
U.S.-traded receipts of Toyota Motor Corp., which gets as much as 70 percent of its operating profit from North America, lost 1.3 percent from the closing share price in Tokyo yesterday. Those of Sumitomo Mitsui slid 2.1 percent.
The yen recently strengthened to 109.50 against the dollar, from 110.34 at the close of market trading in Tokyo yesterday. Japan's currency rose to as high as 109.13, the strongest since May 2006. Against the euro, the yen advanced to as high as 158.71, a level not seen since Sept. 13. A stronger yen decreases the value of Japanese exporters' dollar-denominated sales when converted into local currency.
Prashant Bhatia, an analyst at Citigroup in New York, wrote in a report that there's a 15 percent chance E*Trade will seek protection from creditors after poor management put the viability of the franchise at risk. The company said last week it expects significant writedowns for losses on asset-backed securities.
E*Trade spokeswoman Pam Erickson described Bhatia's analysis as irresponsible and unfounded speculation.
Oil Tumbles
Mitsubishi Corp., Japan's largest trading company, generates the second-biggest proportion of its sales from selling crude and industrial fuel. Profits at Mitsui & Co., Japan's second-largest trading company, are the most sensitive to fluctuations in the price of oil.
Crude oil for December delivery fell 1.8 percent to $94.62 a barrel in the New York. The contract recently fell an additional 0.9 percent to $93.75 in after-hours trading. Copper futures fell 1.2 percent to a seven-month low, while gold plunged 3.2 percent, the biggest drop since Oct. 2006.
Tokyu Corp., an operator of railways, department stores and hotels, may advance. The company may say first half operating profit, or sales minus the cost of goods sold and administrative expenses, rose 12 percent to 42.5 billion yen ($388 million), the Nikkei newspaper reported. That would exceed the company's current forecast by 1 billion yen.
Isuzu Motors Ltd., Japan's third-biggest maker of commercial vehicles, may slip after the company reported a 26 percent drop in second-quarter operating profit as domestic sales slumped.
Asian markets fall sharply on subprime fears
Japan's benchmark Nikkei index falls 2.5 percent on renewed concerns of the credit market turmoil.
Asian markets fell sharply Monday after Wall Street declined at the end of last week on renewed concerns about U.S. mortgage problems. European markets, however, were mixed in early morning trade.
Basically, the subprime loan issue still drags on, and there is no prospect of what can end the problem, said Shinichi Ichikawa, chief strategist at Credit Suisse of the falls in Asian markets.
Major banks warned last week of further losses in their debt portfolios, raising investor concerns that the credit market slump isn't abating.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 2.5 percent, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 3.9 percent. In South Korea, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index, or Kospi, fell 3.4 percent.
Both the Hang Seng and the Kospi fell more than 4 percent during intraday trade, and the Nikkei dipped below 15,000 points for the first time since July 2006.
As for the U.S. economy, the risk of recession is increasing toward the next year amid the lingering subprime loan problems, which, combined with higher oil prices, prompted players to sell the dollar, Ichikawa said.
Japanese traders sold exporter issues on the strengthening yen, which is at its highest levels against the dollar in 18 months.
Automaker Honda Motor Co. fell 3.58 percent and rival Toyota Motor Corp. shed 2.76 percent. Sony Corp. dropped 2.61 percent.
A stronger yen makes the exporters' goods less competitive overseas and cuts into their foreign earnings.
In Hong Kong, bank HSBC shed 2.8 percent on subprime exposure woes.
Chinese financial shares were also lower after China's central bank raised the reserve requirement for banks by 50 basis points to 13.5 percent at the weekend in another of its money-tightening measures.
Bank of China fell 3.9 percent. China Construction Bank fell 4.4 percent. ICBC fell 5.0 percent.
Meanwhile, European markets opened mixed early Monday, with Germany's DAX down 0.2 percent, France's CAC 40 down 0.1 percent and Britain's FTSE 100 up 0.7 percent.
In other Asian markets, shares tumbled as well. The Shanghai composite index lost 4.7 percent amid unconfirmed rumors the China Securities Regulatory Commission recently ordered funds to hold off on aggressive buying.
The benchmark indices lost ground in Australia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand.
The dollar was trading at 110.41 yen, down from 110.07 yen late Friday in New York. The euro fell to $1.4646 from $1.4673.
On Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 1.7 percent to 13,042.7
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Asian Stocks Slump as Dollar Tumbles, Subprime Losses Widen
Asian stocks fell to a two-week low on concern a weaker dollar will erode the value of sales to the region's biggest export market and after U.S. financial companies announced more subprime mortgage-related losses.
Sony Corp., which got 29 percent of its 2006 sales from the U.S., led declines by exporters. Australia's Westpac Banking Corp. paced a drop among lenders.
We'll start to see the U.S. slow down from here on out, said Taku Yamamoto, who helps oversee about $107 billion at the Pension Fund Association in Tokyo. People have been betting on emerging markets as a way of insulating their investments from the U.S. fallout, but don't forget that these markets are dependent on the U.S. as well, so they too will be affected.
The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index slumped 1.9 percent to 164.09 as of 10:20 a.m. in Tokyo, headed for the lowest close since Oct. 22. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 2.1 percent in Japan, where the government today reported a bigger-than-expected drop in machinery orders. All markets open for trading declined.
The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 2.9 percent in the U.S. yesterday, the most since Aug. 9. American International Group Inc., the largest U.S. insurer, said third-quarter profit decreased and General Motors Corp., the world's biggest automaker, announced a record $39 billion quarterly loss. Morgan Stanley, the second-biggest U.S. securities firm, said its subprime-related assets have lost $3.7 billion of their value.
Separately, the dollar slid against currencies in Japan, South Korea and Australia. It was recently trading at 112.38 yen, the lowest since Aug. 17. A weaker dollar reduces the value of Asian exporters' dollar-denominated sales in local-currency terms.
Japan's Sony fell 2.9 percent to 5,360 yen. Samsung Electronics Co., South Korea's largest exporter, lost 3.7 percent to 549,000 won. Toyota Motor Corp., the world's largest automaker by value, slid 3.4 percent to 6,220 yen.
Westpac, Australia's third-largest lender, slumped 3.4 percent to A$28.85. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Japan's biggest bank, slid 3.4 percent to 964 yen. Mizuho Financial Group Inc., the country's second largest, declined 3.1 percent to 565,000 yen.
The weakening U.S. currency is sparking concern investors will flee dollar assets, and that is bad news for stocks here as well, said Juichi Wako, a strategist at Nomura Securities Co. in Tokyo. The U.S. has to deal with the competing problems of the weak dollar and subprime loans.
Nasdaq 100 futures slid 1.2 percent in after-hours trading in Chicago after Cisco Systems Inc., the world's biggest maker of network equipment, reported profit that disappointed some investors, sending the company's shares down 9.3 percent in extended trading.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Dollar hits record low vs euro, yen up on risk unwind
The dollar sank on Monday, hitting a record low versus the euro and other currencies after traders took a tumble in US stocks and the apparent indifference of Group of Seven finance officials to recent dollar weakness as a cue to dump the US currency.
Weakness in US stocks on Friday, when the Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor's 500 posted their worst daily percentage drops in two months, also pushed the dollar to a record low against a basket of currencies.
Tokyo traders on Monday picked up where dollar selling left off on Friday. At the same time, struggling equities discouraged demand for risky assets, boosting the yen as they triggered more unwinding in trades to sell the yen for high-yielding currencies.
The euro climbed to $1.4349 on electronic trading platform EBS after G7 officials ended a weekend meeting without offering verbal support for the beleaguered US currency, as expected, although they did urge China to speed up appreciation of the yuan.
The dollar fell more than 1 percent to 113.25 yen, hitting a six-week low, before pulling back to around 113.75 yen.
RISK AVERSION
The Japanese currency was bolstered by a 3.0 percent fall in the Nikkei stocks average, which along with other Asian equity markets followed US stocks lower.
"Stocks are down and volatility has shot up, so putting on yen carry trades is out of the question," said Seiichiro Muta, forex director at UBS Securities in Tokyo.
But the yen retreated from the day's highs, with some traders saying they had already factored in a sizable drop in the Nikkei, and that additional yen gains in Tokyo trade were unlikely barring a significant extension in Asian stock losses.
Market participants expect the dollar to stay weak on the growing view that the Federal Reserve may cut interest rates this month, as weak earnings among many US banks and corporations and a suffering housing market point to an economic slowdown.
Traders are bracing for US data on new and existing homes to be released later in the week, and some said that weak readings may push the dollar lower this week.
But they added that yen gains may be limited, as Japanese investors, particularly institutional players, were expected to step in to sell the yen to buy foreign assets as part of their investment plans for the second half of the financial year.
Japanese importers were also seen keen to sell the yen as it appreciates.
The yen may become vulnerable to selling in the near term, as some traders said that a Fed rate cut this month would likely boost equities, just as its decision to slash its fed funds rate by 50 basis points last month triggered a surge in US stocks, which may reheat demand for yen carry trades.
Japenese Stocks hit 4 weeks low and Nikkei was trading down 540 points
