Post by Admin on Aug 9, 2013 9:27:22 GMT 8
09-08-2013 09:18:14
GLOBAL MARKETS-Dollar edges off 7-wk low, China data to set tone
* Dollar up vs basket of currencies after 5 days of losses
* Nikkei bounces after two falls; set for weekly loss
* China releases inflation, industrial production data on
Friday
By Dominic Lau
TOKYO, Aug 9 (Reuters) - The dollar steadied above
seven-week lows on Friday but remained vulnerable to more losses
if Chinese data adds to a growing view Beijing was taming its
economic slowdown, while Japanese stocks rose but were still on
track for a heavy weekly fall.
Copper was holding near two-month highs hit after unexpected
strength in trade data from top buyer China on Thursday raised
hopes of a pick-up in demand.
The dollar <.DXY> was up 0.1 percent against a basket of
major currencies, having fallen for five days in a row -- its
longest such streak since mid-June -- on uncertainty about when
the U.S. Federal Reserve would start winding back its stimulus.
If Chinese production and inflation data on Friday further
suggest stabilisation in the world's second-largest economy
after a slowdown that has run for more than two years,
risk-seeking investors would be more confident about switching
out of dollar. [ID:nL4N0G92ZC]
"The investment climate isn't bad, as U.S. and Chinese data
show improvement," said IM Investment & Securities analyst Kang
Hyun-gie. "A batch of new Chinese data coming out later will
certainly function as a catalyst for the market today."
NIKKEI'S WEEKLY LOSS
With the dollar up 0.2 percent at 96.90 yen in early
deals, Tokyo's Nikkei share average <.N225> climbed 1 percent.
Still the Nikkei hit a six-week low on Thursday and is down
about 5 percent this week as the yen has strengthened.
"Although the dollar rebounded against the yen yesterday, it
doesn't feel like it has bottomed out. The chart looks still
very weak and I suspect there's chance the dollar will test 95
yen in the near future," a trader at a Japanese bank said.
The euro hovered near a seven-week high versus the
dollar at $1.33810.
Asian shares as measured by MSCI Asia-Pacific ex-Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> were steady after gaining nearly 1 percent on
Thursday.
Japanese shares' 12-month forward price-to-earnings ratio
has fallen to 13.8 from a two-month high of 14.8 hit last week,
according to Thomson Reuters Datastream.
Valuations for the MSCI Asian gauge have also eased to 11.4
from a two-month high of 11.5 reached last week.
In the commodity markets, copper prices were steady
at around $7,185 a tonne after climbing 2.6 percent to a
two-month after the Chinese trade data.
Gold added 0.2 percent, extending Thursday's 1.9
percent rise. Brent crude prices were up 0.2 percent, on
track to end a five-day run of losses - its longest such run
since mid-April.
(Additional reporting by Jungmin Jang in SEOUL and Hideyuki
Sano in TOKYO; Editing by John Mair)
((dominic.lau@thomsonreuters.com)(+81 3 6441 1917)(Reuters
Messaging: dominic.lau.thomsonreuters@reuters.net))
GLOBAL MARKETS-Dollar edges off 7-wk low, China data to set tone
* Dollar up vs basket of currencies after 5 days of losses
* Nikkei bounces after two falls; set for weekly loss
* China releases inflation, industrial production data on
Friday
By Dominic Lau
TOKYO, Aug 9 (Reuters) - The dollar steadied above
seven-week lows on Friday but remained vulnerable to more losses
if Chinese data adds to a growing view Beijing was taming its
economic slowdown, while Japanese stocks rose but were still on
track for a heavy weekly fall.
Copper was holding near two-month highs hit after unexpected
strength in trade data from top buyer China on Thursday raised
hopes of a pick-up in demand.
The dollar <.DXY> was up 0.1 percent against a basket of
major currencies, having fallen for five days in a row -- its
longest such streak since mid-June -- on uncertainty about when
the U.S. Federal Reserve would start winding back its stimulus.
If Chinese production and inflation data on Friday further
suggest stabilisation in the world's second-largest economy
after a slowdown that has run for more than two years,
risk-seeking investors would be more confident about switching
out of dollar. [ID:nL4N0G92ZC]
"The investment climate isn't bad, as U.S. and Chinese data
show improvement," said IM Investment & Securities analyst Kang
Hyun-gie. "A batch of new Chinese data coming out later will
certainly function as a catalyst for the market today."
NIKKEI'S WEEKLY LOSS
With the dollar up 0.2 percent at 96.90 yen in early
deals, Tokyo's Nikkei share average <.N225> climbed 1 percent.
Still the Nikkei hit a six-week low on Thursday and is down
about 5 percent this week as the yen has strengthened.
"Although the dollar rebounded against the yen yesterday, it
doesn't feel like it has bottomed out. The chart looks still
very weak and I suspect there's chance the dollar will test 95
yen in the near future," a trader at a Japanese bank said.
The euro hovered near a seven-week high versus the
dollar at $1.33810.
Asian shares as measured by MSCI Asia-Pacific ex-Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> were steady after gaining nearly 1 percent on
Thursday.
Japanese shares' 12-month forward price-to-earnings ratio
has fallen to 13.8 from a two-month high of 14.8 hit last week,
according to Thomson Reuters Datastream.
Valuations for the MSCI Asian gauge have also eased to 11.4
from a two-month high of 11.5 reached last week.
In the commodity markets, copper prices were steady
at around $7,185 a tonne after climbing 2.6 percent to a
two-month after the Chinese trade data.
Gold added 0.2 percent, extending Thursday's 1.9
percent rise. Brent crude prices were up 0.2 percent, on
track to end a five-day run of losses - its longest such run
since mid-April.
(Additional reporting by Jungmin Jang in SEOUL and Hideyuki
Sano in TOKYO; Editing by John Mair)
((dominic.lau@thomsonreuters.com)(+81 3 6441 1917)(Reuters
Messaging: dominic.lau.thomsonreuters@reuters.net))