The euro strengthened against the
dollar and yen, while Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures gained
after German and French leaders pledged to devise a plan to stem
Europe’s debt crisis in three weeks and as the U.S. showed signs
of sustaining its economic recovery.
Europe’s 17-nation currency rose 0.5 percent against both
the dollar and yen as of 11:03 a.m. in Hong Kong. S&P 500
futures added 1 percent, while the MSCI Asia Pacific excluding
Japan Index swung between gains and losses, following a three-
day, 7.9 percent jump that was the most since 2009. Oil
increased for a fourth day in New York and silver rallied 1.7
percent.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President
Nicolas Sarkozy will deliver a plan to recapitalize European
banks and address the Greek debt crisis by the Nov. 3 Group of
20 summit. Belgium will buy part of failing Dexia SA and provide
security for depositors. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and
Macroeconomic Advisers LLC raised their U.S. growth forecasts in
the third quarter, after an Oct. 7 report showing a 103,000 rise
in payrolls capped a string of stronger-than-projected data.
“The market was met with some above-expectations data, as
well as some warm and fuzzy talk out of the EU about the banking
sector, so ultimately the rally will likely continue” for the
next few weeks, Nick Maroutsos, who oversees the equivalent of
about $4 billion at Sydney-based Kapstream Capital, said in a
Bloomberg Television interview.
The euro traded at $1.3463 and rose to 103.29 yen after
Merkel said European leaders will do “everything necessary” to
ensure that banks have enough capital. The shared currency
weakened on Oct. 7 after Fitch Ratings lowered Spain’s foreign
and local currency long-term issuer default ratings to AA- from
AA+ and cut Italy’s ratings to A+ from AA-, citing an
“intensification” of the region’s sovereign-debt crisis.
Dexia’s Breakup
Dexia SA’s breakup gained momentum as Belgium got approval
from France to buy as much as 100 percent of the Belgian
consumer-lending unit, three people with knowledge of the talks
said. Belgium and France may also have agreed that they will
guarantee 60 percent and 40 percent, respectively, of the
refinancing of about 120 billion euros of bonds and loans held
by Paris- and Brussels-based Dexia, two people said. The company
was once the world’s leading lender to municipalities.
Futures indicate the S&P 500 may rebound from its 0.8
percent decline on Oct. 7. The gauge had climbed as much as 0.6
percent after the Labor Department report on September payrolls,
which topped the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of
economists for a rise of 60,000. Treasuries fell on Oct. 7,
pushing 10-year note yields up last week by the most since July.
Data later this week may show U.S. retail sales increased
in September at the fastest pace in six months, helping to ease
concern the U.S. recovery is faltering. Economists at Goldman
Sachs and Macroeconomic Advisers lifted their third-quarter
growth forecasts to 2.5 percent from about 2 percent.
Asian Stocks
More shares fell than climbed on MSCI’s Asia Pacific ex-
Japan Index. Financial markets in Japan and Taiwan are closed
for holidays today. South Korea’s Kospi Index jumped 0.8
percent, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index added 0.7 percent while
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slid 0.5 percent. The Shanghai
Composite Index rose and fell as much as 0.4 percent as China’s
financial markets opened for trading following a one-week
holiday.
Oil for November delivery rose 0.9 percent to $83.69 a
barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, extending a three-
day, 9.7 percent jump.
From www.bloomberg.com
No comments:
Post a Comment