Most Asian Stocks Advance on China Manufacturing; Won Weakens, Oil Climbs
Asia Stocks, Won Fall on Earnings, Economy; U.S. Futures
Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg
Asian stocks fell amid speculation that an unexpected expansion in Chinese manufacturing in January reduces the need for more loosening of monetary policy.
Asian stocks fell amid speculation that an unexpected expansion in Chinese manufacturing in January reduces the need for more loosening of monetary policy. Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg
Feb. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Peter So, co-head of research at CCB International Securities Ltd., talks about China's stock market, economy, and central bank monetary policy. China’s manufacturing unexpectedly expanded last month on increased new orders, suggesting the world’s second-biggest economy is withstanding Europe’s debt crisis and a government-induced property slowdown at home. So speaks in Hong Kong with Rishaad Salamat on Bloomberg Television's "On the Move Asia." (Source: Bloomberg)
Feb. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Gabriel Stein, a director at Lombard Street Research Ltd., discusses the Chinese economy and the prospect of Greece, Portugal and Italy leaving Europe's monetary union. He speaks with Linzie Janis, Owen Thomas and David Tweed on Bloomberg Television's "Countdown." (Source: Bloomberg)
Feb. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Andrew Sullivan, principal sales trader at Piper Jaffray Asia Securities Ltd., talks about the outlook for China and Hong Kong stock markets. Sullivan also discusses Hong Kong's budget, and a possible Facebook Inc. initial public offering. He speaks with Susan Li on Bloomberg Television's "First Up." (Source: Bloomberg)
Feb. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Gerard Dalbosco, managing partner markets for Asia Pacific at Ernst & Young, talks about regional economies. Dalbosco also discusses Europe's sovereign debt crisis. He speaks in Hong Kong with Susan Li on Bloomberg Television's "First Up." (Source: Bloomberg)
Jan. 30 (Bloomberg) -- David Garofalo, chief executive officer of HudBay Minerals Inc., talks about the company's mining operations in Canada and Peru, and the outlook for copper demand. He spoke with Bloomberg's Liezel Hill in Toronto on Jan. 26. (Source: Bloomberg)
Jan. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Cynthia Carroll, chief executive officer of Anglo American Plc, discusses the outlook for iron ore and metallurgical coal prices. She speaks with Maryam Nemazee on Bloomberg Television's "Countdown" on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. (Source: Bloomberg)
Feb. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Fan Cheuk Wan, head of Asia-Pacific research at Credit Suisse Private Banking, talks about the region's stocks and investment strategy. She also discusses China's economy and central bank monetary policy. Fan speaks in Hong Kong with Susan Li, Rishaad Salamat, and John Dawson on Bloomberg Television's "Asia Edge." (Source: Bloomberg)
Copper Rises
Scott Eells/Bloomberg
Copper for three-month delivery gained 0.4 percent to $8,350.25 a metric ton as of 10:58 a.m. in Tokyo.
Copper for three-month delivery gained 0.4 percent to $8,350.25 a metric ton as of 10:58 a.m. in Tokyo. Photographer: Scott Eells/Bloomberg
European stocks rose for a second day and the euro pared declines as Greece approached a debt-swap agreement with its private creditors. U.S. equity futures erased losses, while oil and copper advanced.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 0.5 percent as of 8:11 a.m. in London. The euro fell 0.2 percent against the dollar. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures were little changed after losing as much as 0.3 percent. Oil added 0.3 percent and wheat jumped to a four-month high. South Korea’s won dropped 0.3 percent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index sank 0.9 percent as economic data showed weakening growth across Asia.
The Greek government is “one step” from a debt-swap deal with private bondholders, Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos told reporters in Athens yesterday. Creditors negotiating with Greece may get a sweetener tied to a revival in economic growth that would ease the impact of accepting a lower interest rate on the new bonds, people with knowledge of the talks said.
“There are some concerns that talks may continue to drag on,” Lee Wai Tuck, a currency strategist at Forecast Pte. in Singapore, said about the Greek debt negotiations. “The longer it drags on, the more likely the crisis will continue to worsen.”
Ten-year Treasury yields climbed one basis point to 1.81 percent. Data later today may show the Institute for Supply Management’s factory index rose to 54.5 last month, the most since June, from 53.1 in December, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists. A reading above 50 indicates growth.
Amazon Shares
Amazon.com Inc. shares may be active. The world’s largest Internet retailer fell as much as 11 percent in extended trading yesterday after sales missed estimates, signaling that its investments in media services, Kindle devices and shipping promotions have been slow to pay off.
The euro fell as much as 0.5 percent to 99.29 yen, the weakest since Jan. 23. Portugal will sell 105-day and 168-day bills today. Standard & Poor’s increased the number of Portuguese banks on “creditwatch negative” yesterday and the nation’s 10-year bond yield reached a euro-era record 17.39 percent.
The Shanghai Composite Index (SHCOMP) lost 1.1 percent, falling to the lowest in two weeks. China’s purchasing managers’ index rose to 50.5 from 50.3 in December, the statistics bureau and logistics federation said in a statement today. The report, which exceeded economists’ estimates, cuts the need for “aggressive” policy easing, Fan Cheuk Wan, head of Asia- Pacific research at Credit Suisse Private Banking, said in an interview on Bloomberg Television in Hong Kong.
Fujitsu Earnings
Fujitsu Ltd. (6702) sank 2 percent. Japan’s largest computer services provider cut its profit forecast 42 percent as floods in Thailand disrupted output of computer components. Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd. tumbled 9.8 percent. The maker of heavy machinery cut its net-income forecast by 28 percent, citing a strong yen and an economic slowdown in China.
Westpac Banking Corp. and National Australia Bank Ltd. (NAB) dropped at least 0.8 percent. An index measuring the weighted average of prices for established houses in eight major cities slid 4.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the biggest calendar-year drop since the data began in March 2002.
South Korea’s won retreated 0.3 percent to 1,126.35 per dollar. Exports shrank 6.6 percent from a year earlier in January after a revised 10.8 percent rise in December as the Lunar New Year holiday disrupted shipments, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said in a statement today.
Wheat for March delivery advanced as much as 1.4 percent to $6.75 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade, the highest price for a most-active contract since Sept. 21. Temperatures in parts of Russia and Ukraine may drop as low as minus 15 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 26 degrees Celsius) this week, threatening to damage winter wheat not protected by snow, forecaster Telvent DTN said in a report yesterday.
To contact the reporters on this story: Lynn Thomasson in Hong Kong at lthomasson@bloomberg.net; Masaki Kondo in Singapore at mkondo3@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Gentle at ngentle2@bloomberg.net
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