Inside Financial Markets

GLOBAL MARKETS-ASIAN SHARES SHRUG OFF LOSSES, YEN HOLDS GAINS

global stocksGLOBAL MARKETS-ASIAN SHARES SHRUG OFF LOSSES, YEN HOLDS GAINS

TOKYO, April 8 (Reuters) – Asian stocks shrugged off their early losses and steadied on Tuesday, though Japanese shares slumped as the yen clung to its gains even after the Bank of Japan held policy steady.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan  .MIAPJ0000PUS added about 0.3 percent. Japan’s Nikkei stock average  .N225 bucked the regional trend and slumped 1.1 percent to touch its lowest levels in a week and a half.

The BOJ kept monetary policy steady on Tuesday and maintained its view the economy is likely to continue recovering moderately, signalling its confidence the country is making steady progress toward meeting the bank’s price target. But some investors had hoped Japan’s central bank would surprise with an announcement of more purchases of risk assets.

“I think the BOJ are hedging their view a little bit. There is an element of increased caution,” said Hiroshi Shiraishi, senior economist at BNP Paribas Securities in Tokyo.

“We don’t rule out the possibility of an increase in risk asset purchases like ETFs, but we are quite sceptical about a big increase in the monetary base target.”

Data released shortly before Tokyo markets opened showed some economic resilience, as Japan’s current account balance returned to a surplus in February for the first time in five months on stronger exports to Asia and rising income from overseas investments. (Full Story)

Wall Street gloom initially cast a shadow over the session. On Monday, the Nasdaq Composite  .IXIC suffered its worst three-session decline since November 2011 as Internet stocks tumbled, while the S&P 500’s  .SPX three-day fall was its steepest since late January.

Rising tensions in the Ukraine also tempered investor appetite for risk. Pro-Moscow protesters in eastern Ukraine seized arms in one city and declared a separatist republic in another, moves Kiev described on Monday as part of a Russian-orchestrated plan to justify an invasion. (Full Story)

Remarks from European Central Bank policymakers Ewald Nowotny and Yves Mersch bolstered the euro, curbing investors’ expectations of near-term euro zone economic stimulus.

Nowotny said there was no need to act immediately to counter euro zone disinflation, while Mersch said that while the central bank was drawing up plans for large-scale asset purchases, action remained some way off. (Full Story) (Full Story)

The common currency was steady against the yen to 141.59 yen  EURJPY=, remaining above Monday’s more than one-week low of 141.12 yen.

Against the dollar, it was flat on the day at $1.3742  EUR=, having pushed off Friday’s five-week nadir of $1.3672 to Monday’s high of $1.3748.

Against the yen, the dollar fell about 0.1 percent to 103.02 yen, well off its 2-1/2 month high of 104.13 yen  JPY= hit on Friday.

In commodity markets, gold  XAU= was up about 0.3 percent from the previous session at $1,300.71 an ounce.

U.S. crude for May  CLc1 gained about 0.5 percent to $100.90 a barrel, pushed up by the renewed tensions over Ukraine, a major supply route for Russian gas to Europe. But the rise was capped by expectations of a U.S. crude oil stock build-up. O/R

May Brent crude  LCOc1 rose about 0.3 percent to $106.06 a barrel.

 

Sanie Khan

Sanie Khan holds a deep knowledge of the financial markets in Pakistan. Based in Karachi, he has over 20 years of hands-on management experience in financial technologies and managing operations in the financial sector. He was the General Manager at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) for 17 years. He along-with senior members of Exchange

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Inside Financial Markets was a joint publication of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX)and Society of Technical Analysts Pakistan (STAP)