By Lynn Thomasson and Mariko Ishikawa - Jan 26, 2012 12:39 PM GMT+0700
Jan. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Robert Horrocks, chief investment officer at Matthews Asia, talks about Federal Reserve monetary policy, Asia stocks and his investment strategy. He speaks with Susan Li on Bloomberg Television's "First Up." (Source: Bloomberg)
Jan. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Khiem Do, Hong Kong-based head of multi-asset strategy at Baring Asset Management Ltd., talks about Hong Kong and mainland China stocks, and his investment strategy. Do also discusses Europe's sovereign debt crisis and Federal Reserve monetary policy. He speaks with Rishaad Salamat on Bloomberg Television's "On the Move Asia." (Source: Bloomberg)
Jan. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Puru Saxena, chief executive officer of Puru Saxena Wealth Management, talks about the outlook for global financial markets, Federal Reserve monetary policy and his investment strategy. Saxena speaks with Susan Li on Bloomberg Television's "Asia Edge." (Source: Bloomberg)
Asian stocks rose to a three-month high, copper climbed and South Korea’s won strengthened after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke signaled plans to maintain near-zero interest rates through 2014. Crude oil advanced on data showing a pickup in U.S. fuel demand.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index (MXAP) gained 0.7 percent as of 2:36 p.m. in Tokyo, poised for the highest close since Oct. 28. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures were little changed after the U.S. benchmark rallied 0.9 percent yesterday. Crude rose 0.7 percent and natural gas climbed for a fifth day. South Korea’s won reached a 10-week high, while the dollar traded near its weakest level in a month against the euro.
The Fed said yesterday it sees “exceptionally low” interest rates through 2014, having previously pledged to refrain from raising borrowing costs until at least the middle of 2013. New Zealand’s central bank signaled interest rates may stay at a record low for longer than previously intended and South Korea reported its slowest economic growth in more than a year as Europe’s debt crisis weighs on Asian exports.
“Mr. Bernanke is presenting the world with a gift,” Khiem Do, the Hong Kong-based head of multi-asset strategy at Baring Asset Management Ltd., said in a Bloomberg Television interview. The firm oversees $46 billion. “He wants to underwrite the recovery and underwriting the recovery is very good for equity markets and risk assets.”
Talks on a debt swap to avert a Greek default resume today. Charles Dallara and Jean Lemierre, negotiating on behalf of private creditors, return to Athens after European finance ministers insisted bondholders take bigger losses on their Greek debt.
Hyundai, Nintendo
NEC Corp. and Nintendo Co. are among Asian companies scheduled to report earnings today. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rallied 1.2 percent in the first day of trading this week after the Lunar New Year holiday, while South Korea’s Kospi Index climbed 0.2 percent. Financial markets are shut in Australia, China, India and Taiwan.
Hyundai Motor Co. (005380) tumbled 1.9 percent. South Korea’s largest automaker said net income climbed to 2 trillion won ($1.8 billion) in the three months ended Dec. 31, missing the average analyst estimate from a Bloomberg survey.
The S&P 500 closed yesterday at the highest level since July after Apple Inc. reported quarterly profit more than doubled. The maker of iPhones and iPads single-handedly erased a drop in S&P 500 earnings for the December quarter, turning a 4.2 percent decline into a 4.4 percent gain. Apple’s 116 percent profit growth helped push its total cash to $97.6 billion -- enough to cover Greece’s debt payments due in the next two years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Foxconn Jumps
Foxconn International Holdings Ltd. (2038), whose parent Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. manufactures Apple products, jumped 3.2 percent to a two-month high in Hong Kong.
Five-year Treasuries yielded 0.79 percent, after the rate reached a record-low 0.76 percent yesterday. The 10-year yield slipped two basis points to 1.97 percent. Policy makers are “prepared to provide further monetary accommodation” and bond buying is “an option that’s certainly on the table,” Bernanke said after officials gathered for a meeting yesterday. The Treasury Department is scheduled to sell $29 billion of seven- year securities today.
Ringgit, Won
The dollar traded at $1.311 per euro, little changed from yesterday when it reached $1.3121, the weakest level since Dec. 21. Malaysia’s ringgit strengthened the most in seven months, climbing 1.5 percent to 3.03075 per dollar and the won advanced 0.4 percent to 1,121.55.
Crude for March delivery rose as much as 0.8 percent to $100.19 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. U.S. total fuel consumption increased 7.5 percent to 19.2 million barrels a day in the week ended Jan. 20, the largest increase since Nov. 4, the Energy Department said yesterday.
“Most of the price movement has been driven by the announcement” from the Fed, said Tetsu Emori, a commodity fund manager at Astmax Ltd. in Tokyo. “Continuing the zero-interest- rate policy should fuel the economy. People could expect oil demand to go up.”
Natural gas headed for the longest winning streak in a year on speculation a supply glut may ease. Gas for February delivery rose 0.9 percent to $2.753 per million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It has gained 19 percent since Jan. 19.
Copper, Gold
Three-month copper climbed 0.9 percent to $8,459.75 per metric ton on the London Metal Exchange. The LME Index of the six main industrial metals has jumped 12 percent this month, after tumbling 22 percent in 2011. Gold futures for April delivery advanced as much as 0.8 percent to $1,717.20 an ounce, the highest level in more than six weeks.
The cost of protecting bonds in Asia against non-payment declined, according to credit-default swap traders. The Markit iTraxx Asia index of 40 investment-grade borrowers outside Japan dropped four basis points to 185.5, Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc prices show. The gauge is on course for its lowest close since Oct. 31, according to data provider CMA.
To contact the reporters on this story: Lynn Thomasson in Hong Kong at lthomasson@bloomberg.net; Mariko Ishikawa in Tokyo at mishikawa9@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Regan in Hong Kong at jregan19@bloomberg.net.
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