Japan Rebounds

Ivaylo
12 Jun, 2006
New York City

Japanese shares advanced for a second day on news that the economy was developing faster than first estimated in the first quarter. China''s shares closed slightly higher on gains in some banks and Hong Kong''s Hang Seng Index inched up as well. Shares in Malaysia and South Korea also advanced. Major indexes in Singapore, Taiwan and Indonesia were virtually unchanged. Markets in Australia were closed for a public holiday.

[R]7:30AM Asian markets were broadly higher on Monday.[/R]
Asian markets closed broadly higher on Monday. The Nikkei 225 Index advanced 0.56% to 14833. On Friday, stocks recovered from declines to six-month lows worrying about a global economic slowdown. Ahead of Friday''s recovery, the Nikkei had plunged 9.2% since the start of the year. Among the gainers was auto makers Honda Motor, which advanced 0.72%, and Nissan Motorwhich climbing 0.64%. Machinery makers also gained, with Okuma Holdings climbing 1.07% and SMC 2.9%. Electronics shares also advanced. Sanyo Electronics added 5%, while computer maker Fujitsu jumped 4%. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index in China advanced slightly 0.09% to 1552. The Shenzhen Composite Index edged up 0.3% to 398.88. Investors were also observing Bank of China, which Monday issued a prospectus, which is another step towards listing. Hong Kong''s Hang Seng Index shed 0.05% to 15621.44. Cathay Pacific Airways inched up 0.35%, extending Friday''s gains after the carrier reported it had secured the takeover of a mainland carrier Hong Kong Dragon Airways.

[R]6:30AM European shares extend early losses.[/R]
On the corporate front, Ericsson said it had agreed to sell its defense business, Ericsson Microwave Systems AB and its 40% holding in Saab Ericsson Space to Saab. Remy Cointreau recouped from a sharp opening fall to trade 0.6% higher after the French wines and spirits group posted full-year results below analysts’ expectations due to restructuring charges. There are reports that Credit Suisse is in exclusive talks to sell its insurance business Winterthur to Axa, the French insurance company. Arcelor has formally rejected Mittal Steel’s takeover bid but its management board has agreed to meet with Mittal to review the offer. Arcelor trade 0.4% higher on hopes that its decision to review the offer might indicate a softening in its stance towards Mittal, which edged 1.5% down.

Light, sweet crude oil for July delivery declined 13 cents to $71.50 a barrel by 0610 GMT, while Brent crude advanced 2 cents to $70.50 a barrel. Gold opened Monday at a bid price of $604.30 a troy ounce, down from $615.65 late Friday. The dollar changed little against the euro. The European currency purchased $1.2643 in morning European trading, compared with $1.2644 in New York late Friday. The British pound advanced to $1.8446 from $1.8413, while the dollar inched up to 114.00 Japanese yen from 113.92 yen.

[R]5:00 AM Precious metals finished mixed in New York on Friday.[/R]
August gold finished $1 down at $612.80 a troy ounce on NYME. It traded at $622 before falling down. July silver climbed 13.5 cents to $11.21 an ounce, but closed well down from the $11.51 peak. July platinum closed nearly unchanged, advancing only 10 cents to $1,190.20 after reaching $1,208.80 an ounce. September palladium fell back from a high of $334 to close up $3 for the day at $325.55. The benchmark July copper contract ended 8.95 cents down at $3.2675 per pound. Earlier in the session, the contract reached $3.47 per pound but later pared gains and dipped to a $3.2415 five-week low.

July crude oil contract advanced $1.28 to $71.63 a barrel after dropping to $69.95 in overnight trading. July gasoline contract ended at $2.1528 a gallon, up 5.06 cents on the day. On the New York Board of Trade, July Arabica coffee closed 0.55 cent down at 95.90 cents a pound and September shed 0.55 cent to 98.70 cents a pound. Raw sugar in foreign ports futures for July finished up 0.02 cent at 15.05 cents a pound while October was down 0.01 cent to 15.43 cents a pound.