Japan Stock Futures, Australian Stocks Rise on Europe Optimism
Japanese stock futures and Australian stocks advanced as European governments considered deploying $1.3 trillion to fight the region’s debt crisis, boosting the earnings outlook for Asian exporters.
American depositary receipts of Sony Corp., Japan’s biggest consumer electronics exporter, rose 0.7 percent from the closing share price in Tokyo. Those of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. (8316), Japan’s second-biggest lender by market value, rose 0.2 percent. Paladin Energy Ltd., a uranium explorer, rose 4.6 percent in Sydney.
Futures on Japan’s Nikkei 225 (NKY) Stock Average expiring in December closed at 8,690 in Chicago yesterday, compared with 8,670 in Osaka, Japan. They were bid in the pre-market at 8,690 in Osaka, at 8:05 a.m. local time. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index added 0.5 percent today. New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index advanced 0.1 percent in Wellington.
“It looks like Europe is gradually getting its act together on a rescue plan for the debt crisis,” said Juichi Wako, a senior strategist at Tokyo-based Nomura Holdings Inc. “Still, investors are going to keep sitting on the fence and trading is going to be light.”
Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index were little changed today. In New York, the index rose 0.5 percent yesterday. Stock rose on a report that Europe may combine temporary and permanent rescue funds to unleash as much as 940 billion euros ($1.3 trillion) to fight the crisis, according to two people familiar with the matter
Better-than-expected earnings at Microsoft Corp. and a report showing that manufacturing in the Philadelphia area unexpectedly expanded also lifted stocks.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index declined 16 percent this year through yesterday, compared with a 3.4 percent loss by the S&P 500 and a 16 percent drop by the Stoxx Europe 600 Index. Stocks in the Asian benchmark are valued at 11.7 times estimated earnings on average, compared with 12.2 times for the S&P 500 and 10 times for the Stoxx 600.
To contact the reporter on this story: Yoshiaki Nohara in Tokyo at ynohara1@bloomberg.net Masaaki Iwamoto in Tokyo at miwamoto4@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Gentle at ngentle2@bloomberg.net.
Rate this Page