Asia stocks hit three-and-a-half-month high on Dow’s surge, dollar slips

Friday, 27 January 2017 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Asian stocks rose to 3-1/2-month highs on Thursday, cheered by the Dow Jones Industrial Average breaching the 20,000-level for the first time, though concerns about U.S. President Donald Trump’s protectionist stance kept the dollar on the defensive.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.7% to its highest since Oct. 11.

South Korea’s Kospi advanced 0.9%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed 1.2% and Shanghai edged up 0.2%.

Japan’s Nikkei brushed aside a stronger yen to rise 1.4%.

“Today’s excitement mainly comes from strong U.S. stocks overnight, but people are also positive about Japanese companies’ earnings especially machinery manufacturers,” said Takuya Takahashi, a strategist at Daiwa Securities in Tokyo.

The Dow closed atop the 20,000 mark for the first time overnight as solid earnings and optimism over Trump’s pro-growth initiatives revitalised a post-election rally.

Safe-haven U.S. Treasuries were duly sold as risk aversion ebbed and the benchmark 10-year note yield rose to a four-week high on Wednesday. Subdued investor demand at a five-year auction also hurt Treasuries.

The dollar was little changed at 113.425 yen after losing 0.5% overnight.

It had soared to a 10-month high of 118.660 in mid-December at the apex of the dollar-boosting Trump trade, when the market focus was on bets of more fiscal stimulus and reflationary measures under the new administration.

The euro was steady at $1.0755 after gaining 0.2% the previous day. The common currency had risen to a 1-1/2-month high of $1.0775 on Tuesday against the struggling dollar.

The pound extended its overnight rally and touched a six-week high of $1.2648.

Gold was on track for a third straight day of losses as the risk-on mood in the global markets reduced demand for the precious metal. Spot gold was down 0.1% at $1,198.60 an ounce, pulled back from a two-month high of $1,219.59 scaled on Tuesday.

Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event including Valentine ’s Day. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Flower Bouquets, Clothing, Watches, Lingerie, Gift Sets and Jewellery. Also if you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.