Australia/New Zealand Daybook: Australian Unemployment Rate, N.Z. PMI
An overview of activity since markets closed in Sydney and a preview of the day ahead.
--------------Markets Overview (6.30 a.m. Sydney)--------------- EQUITIES SPI 200 FUTURES 4741 +25 S&P/ASX 200 4699.80 -40.90 NZX 50 INDEX 3333.49 +11.72 DOW JONES INDUS. AVG 11355.11 +8.36 NIKKEI 225 9830.52 +136.03 NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX 2575.25 +12.27 FTSE 100 INDEX 5816.94 -58.25 S&P 500 INDEX 1217.51 +4.11 HANG SENG INDEX 24500.61 -209.99 REUTERS/JEFFERIES CRB INDEX 317.08 -2.03 BONDS (YIELD) AU 10 YR BOND 5.355 +.066 US 10 YR BOND 2.64 -.01 NZ 10 YR BOND 5.413 +.073 US 30 YR BOND 4.26 +.02 CURRENCIES AUD/USD 1.0050 NZD/USD 0.7827 EUR/USD 1.3788 USD/JPY 82.19 AUD/EUR 0.7288 GBP/AUD 1.6039 AUD/JPY 82.59 COMMODITIES SPOT GOLD 1400.93 +8.03 COMEX GOLD 1400.50 -9.60 SPOT SILVER 27.1200 +.1975 NYMEX CRUDE 87.77 +1.05 ---------------------------------------------------------------
Market action since Sydney’s end of day:
EQUITIES New York: U.S. stocks halted a two-day slide as energy shares rose on higher oil prices and Ireland’s central bank governor said the country may return to bond markets in 2011, easing concern that Europe’s debt crisis will worsen. *Chevron Corp. gained 1.6 percent as oil climbed following an Energy Department report showing an unexpected decrease in crude stockpiles. Citigroup Inc. rose 3.1 percent, leading a measure of banks higher. Boeing Co. slid 3 percent after suspending test flights of the 787 Dreamliner following a fire. *The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.4 percent to 1,217.78 at 2:15 p.m. in New York, recovering from an earlier decline of as much as 0.4 percent. *The Dow average rose 0.1 percent to 11,356.4. Benchmark indexes reached two-yeah highs last week after the Federal Reserve expanded its program of asset purchases to stimulate growth, a tactic known as quantitative easing.
London: European stocks fell the most in two weeks amid renewed concern that the region’s weakest economies will struggle to reduce their deficits and as companies from UniCredit SpA to Natixis SA had worse-than-estimated earnings. *Banks tumbled as the extra yield investors demand to hold Irish government bonds instead of German bunds widened to a record. *UniCredit, Italy’s biggest lender, tumbled 4.6 percent. Natixis, the investment-banking unit of Groupe BPCE, sank the most in 15 months. BHP Billiton Ltd. fell 2.4 percent as copper slid for the first time in five days. *The benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 Index dropped 0.7 percent to 271.48 at the 4:30 p.m. close in London, declining from the highest level since September 2008. *The gauge has climbed 17 percent since May as company earnings topped estimates and the Federal Reserve unveiled a second round of asset purchases, a tactic for boosting the economy known as quantitative easing.
Tokyo: Asian stocks outside Japan fell, dragging down the MSCI Asia Pacific Index for a second day, as Chinese companies declined on concern the government will seek to cool asset inflation. Japanese banks advanced. *Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Japan’s biggest bank by market value, jumped 4.2 percent in Tokyo after the Financial Times said Group of 20 leaders meeting this week may seek to exempt large Asian banks from stricter global regulations. *Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 1.4 percent, the gauge’s biggest advance since June. *The broader Topix index climbed the most among benchmarks in the Asia-Pacific region.
Sydney/Wellington: Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index slipped 0.9 percent to 4,699.80 at the 4:10 p.m. close of trading in Sydney. New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index gained 0.4 percent to 3,333.49 at the 5 p.m. close in Wellington.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
New York: The dollar gained for a second day versus the yen as U.S. Treasury yields rose following a bond auction that drew lower-than-average demand, bolstering the appeal of assets denominated in the currency. *Japan’s currency weakened 0.8 percent to 82.36 per dollar at 1:39 p.m. in New York, from 81.69 yesterday. The yen depreciated 0.8 percent to 113.37 per euro, from 112.51 yesterday. *The euro was little changed at $1.3769, compared with $1.3773 yesterday, after earlier falling to $1.3671, the lowest level since Oct. 5. *The greenback erased an advance versus the euro as U.S. stocks reversed losses. The 16-nation currency earlier fell amid concern that some governments in Europe may struggle to pay their debt.
TREASURIES
New York: Treasuries erased declines after the Federal Reserve announced plans for 18 open-market operations to buy $105 billion of debt during the next 30 days as it expands its policy of quantitative easing. *The yield on the current 30-year bond increased one basis point, or 0.01 percentage point, to 4.25 percent at 2:10 p.m. in New York. The yield earlier touched 4.33 percent, the highest since May 18. *The benchmark 10-year note yield rose three basis points to 2.59 percent.
COMMODITIES
METALS
New York: Copper fell the most in two weeks as imports tumbled to a one-year low in China, the world’s largest metals consumer. *Inbound shipments of copper and products fell 26 percent from the prior month to 273,511 metric tons in October, the country’s customs office said today. Price have surged more than fivefold since the end of 2002 as miners struggled to keep up with surging demand from China and other emerging economies. *Copper futures for delivery in December dropped 6.55 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $3.9775 a pound at 11:48 a.m. on the Comex in New York. A close at that price would mark the biggest loss since Oct. 27.
GOLD
New York: Gold futures fell the most in three weeks as the dollar strengthened to the highest level in a month against the euro, eroding the metal’s appeal as an alternative asset. *Gold futures for December delivery fell $22, or 1.6 percent, to $1,388.10 at 11:15 a.m. on the Comex in New York. A close at that price would mark the biggest drop for a most-active contract since Oct. 19.
OIL
New York: Crude oil rose to a two-year high after a report showed an unexpected decrease in inventories as imports declined and refineries bolstered operating rates. *Oil climbed as much as 1.6 percent as supplies dropped 3.27 million barrels to 364.9 million last week, the Energy Department said. *Crude oil for December delivery increased 98 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $87.70 a barrel at 1:15 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures touched $88.06 a barrel, the highest level since Oct. 9, 2008.
WHAT TO WATCH *Melbourne Institute survey of consumer inflation expectations at 11 a.m. in Sydney. *Australian unemployment rate at 11:30 a.m. in Sydney. *New Zealand performance of manufacturing index at 10:30 a.m. in Wellington.
ANALYST RATINGS: Upgrades, downgrades, new coverage *Computershare Ltd. was cut to ‘Sell’ at UBS
BLOOMBERG TV: Selected guests (Sydney time) 11:40 a.m. HSBC Chief US Economist Kevin Logan 12:10 p.m. OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria 1:10 p.m. BNP Paribas Chief Asia Economist Richard Iley
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tracy Withers at twithers@bloomberg.net