Posts Tagged yen
Stocks Retreat Before U.S. Jobs Report as Yen, Dollar Advance
Posted by Oksana Grebenjuk in Currency, Favourites on Июль 2nd, 2009
European stocks and U.S. index futures fell while the yen and the dollar rose on speculation a report today will show that America’s unemployment rate climbed to the highest level since 1983.
The MSCI World Index of 23 developed countries slipped 0.6 percent at 9:21 a.m. in London, while Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures slipped 0.5 percent. The yen and the dollar strengthened 0.3 percent against the euro.
The U.S. jobless rate may have risen to 9.6 percent last month, economists surveyed by Bloomberg News said before today’s Labor Department report. That increase would suggest the $12.8 trillion pledged by the U.S. government and the Federal Reserve is doing little to shore up the labor market. The European Central Bank probably will keep borrowing costs at a record low to battle the recession, while Sweden’s Riksbank unexpectedly cut its benchmark rate to 0.25 percent today.
“People have become a little bit too optimistic,” Philippe Gijsels, a senior structured equity strategist at Fortis Global Markets in Brussels told Bloomberg Television. “People will be disappointed. Gradually over the summer and into the autumn we will move lower,” he said. Read the rest of this entry »
Dollar Weakens; Stocks Rebound
Posted by Oksana Grebenjuk in Favourites, Investing on Июнь 24th, 2009
The dollar weakened on concern that the Federal Reserve will signal it has no intention of raising interest rates with the global economy in its worst recession since World War II. Metals rose, buoying emerging-market stocks.
The U.S. currency lost 0.2 percent against the euro at 9:50 a.m. in London, 1 percent versus the Norwegian krone and 0.9 percent compared with the New Zealand dollar. Copper led an advance in industrial metals. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 1.9 percent, the biggest increase in two weeks, and the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index of European shares rebounded from its worst two-day decline since April.
“Speculation about ongoing low-rate policy by the Fed is a burden to the U.S. dollar,” a team of analysts led by Viola Stork at Helaba Landesbank Hessen Thueringen in Frankfurt wrote in a research note today. There is an “expectation that the Fed is not going to signal any change in its rate policy today,” the report said.
The chances that the U.S. central bank will increase its target interest rate for overnight loans by the end of the year diminished to 40 percent from 50 percent a week ago, based on trading in Fed funds futures. Policy makers’ determination to prop up the world’s biggest economy prompted investors to seek higher returns outside the U.S. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said today the world’s most- industrialized economies will contract 4.1 percent this year and grow 0.7 percent in 2010. Read the rest of this entry »
Yen Strengthens as Stock Declines Boost Demand for Safer Assets
Posted by Oksana Grebenjuk in Currency, Favourites on Июнь 16th, 2009
The yen rose against higher-yielding currencies and advanced the most in two weeks versus the dollar as stocks declined and the Bank of Japan said the nation’s deepest recession since World War II is easing.
Japan’s currency made the biggest gains against the Australian and New Zealand dollars and the Mexican peso as speculation the global economic crisis is far from over spurred investors to cut holdings of riskier assets. The greenback fell for a second day against the yen on concern the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India and China meeting today will call for less reliance on the dollar as the world’s reserve currency.
“Stocks are falling, indicating risk-aversion among investors,” said Masanobu Ishikawa, general manager of foreign exchange at Tokyo Forex & Ueda Harlow Ltd., Japan’s largest currency broker. “The yen is being bought.”
The yen climbed to 133.46 per euro as of 7:40 a.m. in London from 134.99 yesterday in New York. It earlier rose to 132.74, the strongest level since May 28. The yen advanced 1.5 percent to 96.35 per dollar, the biggest gain since May 29. Japan’s currency rose 1.6 percent to 60.76 against the New Zealand dollar, and strengthened 1.8 percent to 76.44 versus Australia’s currency. Read the rest of this entry »
Hedge funds back into options to bet on dollar/yen
Posted by Oksana Grebenjuk in Currency on Май 22nd, 2009
Hedge funds are dipping their toes back into the dollar/yen options market after months of absence, betting that eventual interest rate tightening by the U.S. Federal Reserve will help the greenback gain against the yen.
Dollar/yen‘s implied volatility, a gauge of how much a currency pair is expected to move over a given period, has come down to levels not seen since before Lehman Brothers collapsed in mid-September, sending global markets into a tailspin.
The decline suggests market stress has eased substantially and investor confidence has risen after the battering dealt by the global financial crisis, but it also implies lessening demand for options to hedge against a further surge in the yen.
«It means investors bruised in the past months have regained enough energy to stretch their arms and legs around, and some are starting to bet for economic recovery for the coming years, thinking the worst of the financial crisis is over,» said a senior options trader at a Japanese bank. Read the rest of this entry »
Dollar Falls to 8-Week Low After Fed Projects Deeper Recession
Posted by Oksana Grebenjuk in Currency on Май 21st, 2009
The dollar traded near an eight-week low against the yen amid speculation the U.S. Federal Reserve will print more cash to boost purchases of assets as it seeks to counter the global slump.
The U.S. currency weakened most against the Taiwan and Canadian dollars after the Fed projected a deeper recession in 2009. New Zealand’s dollar rose for a fourth day after a government report showed immigration growth accelerated. The euro traded near a four-month high against the dollar after a German manufacturing and services survey beat economists’ forecasts.
“The Fed may expand its asset-purchase program, which would increase the supply of greenbacks,” said Yuji Saito, head of the foreign-exchange group in Tokyo at Societe Generale SA, France’s third-largest bank. “This could undermine the value of the dollar and spur investors in the U.S. to put their funds overseas.”
The U.S. currency traded at 94.81 yen as of 8:38 a.m. in London from 94.88 yesterday in New York. It fell to 94.29 earlier, the lowest level since March 20. Japan’s currency strengthened to 130.62 per euro from 130.77. The euro was little changed at $1.3777 from $1.3780 yesterday, when it reached $1.3830, the strongest level since Jan. 5. Read the rest of this entry »
Stocks tumble at end of tough week
Posted by Oksana Grebenjuk in Favourites, Fund Markets on Май 15th, 2009
Stocks fell Friday at the end of a down week on Wall Street, the first weekly decline in all three major indexes in 10 weeks, as investors reacted to economic news and word of General Motors’ dealership closings.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) lost 63 points, or 0.8%. The S&P 500 (SPX) index lost 10 points, or 1.1%. The Nasdaq composite (COMP) lost 9 points or 0.5%.
«I think we needed a technical correction after the previous nine weeks,» said Tom Schrader, managing director at Stifel Nicolaus.
«We came pretty far pretty fast and this week has been about taking a breather,» he said. «We may see a few more weeks of this, especially now that earnings are over, as we wait for the next catalyst.»
Since hitting what many see as a bottom on March 9, stocks have been on a tear. The Dow and S&P 500 rose for eight of the nine previous weeks and the Nasdaq advanced for nine in a row. Read the rest of this entry »
Euro Weakens
Posted by Oksana Grebenjuk in Currency, Favourites on Апрель 17th, 2009
The euro fell to a one-month low against the dollar after European Central Bank President Jean- Claude Trichet’s pledge to boost confidence failed to assuage concern the bank’s policy makers are split.
The Dollar Index rose for a fourth day before a report that may show consumer confidence in the U.S. increased for a second month, underpinning signs its recession may be easing. The euro fell against 15 of 16 major currencies monitored by Bloomberg after a report yesterday showed February factory output in the region plunged, fueling concern the slowdown is deepening.
“The euro is out of favor,” said Neil Jones, head of European hedge fund sales in London at Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd. “The market is worried about uncertainty of policy measures. The ECB is likely to embark on quantitative easing given the economic situation, but how are they going to do that is the question.”
The euro dropped to $1.3082 as of 9:48 a.m. in London from $1.3186 in New York yesterday. It fell as low as $1.3068, the weakest since March 18, and is heading for a second weekly loss. The currency slid to 129.96 yen, from 130.90 yen. The dollar was little changed at 99.37 yen, from 99.27 yen. Read the rest of this entry »
Asia markets rise on Japan stimulus, China lending
Posted by Oksana Grebenjuk in Fund Markets on Апрель 13th, 2009
Asian markets gained more ground Monday as Japan’s new $150 billion stimulus plan and upbeat news about Chinese bank lending boosted hopes for recovery in the region’s major economies.
Trade was thinner than normal with many investors still away for a public holiday and several markets closed. A stronger dollar combined with Tokyo’s latest measures helped exporters like Mazda and Nissan. Oil prices slipped to near $51 a barrel.
Japan’s newest effort, unveiled Friday, calls for 15 trillion yen ($150 billion) in government spending and aims to arrest an economic slide caused by the unprecedented drop in global demand. The world’s second-largest economy is struggling through its most painful recession since World War II.
The move is part of a worldwide effort by governments to restore growth. China’s stimulus measures have become a major source of optimism among investors in Asia.
News that Chinese bank lending surged last month reinforced a belief that Beijing’s massive government spending and easier fiscal policies will lead consumers and businesses to sink more money into the economy and help China stage a quicker recovery. Read the rest of this entry »
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