Australian, Japanese Stock Futures Advance Following U.S. Data; BHP Climbs
Japanese and Australian stock futures rose after U.S. reports showed an unexpected increase in pending home sales and improved retail sales.
American depositary receipts of Canon Inc., a Japanese camera maker that gets more than 80 percent of its revenue overseas, rose 0.8 percent from the closing share price in Tokyo. Those of Toyota Motor Corp., an automaker that earns about 70 percent of its revenue abroad, increased 0.8 percent after the yen weakened. ADRs of BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s largest mining company, gained 0.7 percent from the closing price in Sydney as commodity prices advanced.
“The excessive pessimism about the U.S. economy is coming to a halt,” said Juichi Wako, a senior strategist at Tokyo- based Nomura Holdings Inc. “The market was totally pessimistic, but a ray of sunlight has come out this week.”
Futures on Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average expiring in September closed at 9,105 in Chicago yesterday, compared with 9,040 in Osaka, Japan. They were bid in the pre-market at 9,100 in Osaka at 8:05 a.m. local time today. Futures on Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index advanced 0.7 percent today. New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index rose 0.3 percent in Wellington.
Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index were little changed today. In New York yesterday, the index increased 0.9 percent, rounding out its biggest two-day gain since early July.
Pending sales of existing U.S. houses climbed 5.2 percent in July, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed yesterday. Economists had expected a 1 percent drop, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey. Same- store sales at 30 U.S. retail chains probably rose 3.5 percent in August, according to Retail Metrics Inc., beating analysts’ estimates of 2.8 percent.
Yen Weakens
The yen depreciated to as low as 84.32 against the dollar today in Tokyo, compared with 84.17 at the close of stock trading yesterday. Against the euro, Japan’s currency weakened to 108.14 from 107.68. A weaker yen boosts overseas income at Japanese companies when converted into their home currency.
Crude oil for October delivery rose 1.5 percent yesterday in New York. The London Metal Exchange Index of six metals including aluminum and copper advanced for a second day yesterday to the highest level since April 30.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index has fallen 7.6 percent from its high this year on April 15 on concern Europe’s debt crisis and China’s steps to curb property prices will slow global economic growth. Stocks in the index trade at 13.6 times estimated earnings on average, compared with 13.1 times for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index and 11.6 times for the Stoxx Europe 600 Index.
To contact the reporters on this story: Norie Kuboyama in Tokyo at nkuboyama@bloomberg.net; Kotaro Tsunetomi in Tokyo at ktsunetomi@bloomberg.net.
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