por Arnold » Mar Ago 09, 2011 10:22 pm
Asia Rebounds After Losses
By SHRI NAVARATNAM
SINGAPORE--Asian shares rebounded Wednesday drawing comfort from the U.S., where the Federal Reserve's pledge to keep interest rates low for two more years pushed stocks sharply higher.
"Market sentiment hasn't stabilized yet, so while we'll likely see a relief rally today, it'll be a rocky path to recovery," said Toshiyuki Kanayama, market analyst at Monex in Tokyo.
The dollar was mixed against its rivals, while the safe-haven Japanese yen held up solidly, underscoring the still-fragile market sentiment.
Regional stock markets saw one of the biggest selloffs since the 2008 financial crisis Tuesday.
Early Wednesday, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.8% after three straight days of losses, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 2.8%, South Korea's Kospi Composite advanced 2.3% and New Zealand's NZX-50 added 3.2%.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were 19 points higher on screen trade, after rebounding strongly in Tuesday's session. Fed officials on Tuesday committed to keep interest rates at their current exceptionally low levels "at least through mid-2013," suggesting policy makers will continue to support efforts to lift the struggling U.S. economy.
The yen, however, was steady after its sharp rise in recent sessions, and kept markets on alert for intervention by Japanese authorities.
The dollar was at ¥77.04, from ¥76.96 late in New York Tuesday, and at CHF0.7239 against the Swiss franc, from CHF0.7205. The Australian dollar pushed higher to US$1.0331 in line with the better sentiment, from US$1.0174 prior to the Fed statement.
It would be tempting to view Tuesday's gains as signaling that "some poise might be returning to global financial markets. But few will be willing to make this leap quite yet," Credit Agricole said in a note to clients.
The euro struggled as fears that the euro-zone debt crisis would spread to Spain and Italy kept investors on edge.
The single currency was at $1.4343, compared with $1.4373 in New York, and ¥110.52 against the yen, from ¥110.55.
Oil prices rose from Tuesday's multimonth lows, with the September Nymex crude futures up $2.06 at $81.36 a barrel. Gold prices took a breather after tapping fresh record highs in offshore trade; spot gold was at $1,741.90, down $2.20 from New York trade.
Stocks that took a heavy beating in recent sessions attracted buyers, although demand was measured across many markets. In Tokyo, Canon rose 1.1% and Inpex added 2.0%. However, concerns about the stubbornly strong yen weighed on some of the exporters, with Sony off 1.1%.
In Sydney, BHP Billiton advanced 3.1% and Woodside Petroleum rose 3.0%, while Hynix Semiconductor jumped 4.2% and Samsung Electronics added 0.6% in Seoul.
September Japanese government bond futures rose 0.21 to 142.34 points, led by gains in U.S. Treasurys Tuesday.