Stocks and euro are stable but vulnerable
SINGAPORE, July 19 (Reuters) - Asian stocks stabilised on Tuesday, helped by technology shares, while a steady euro kept investors for now from cutting their exposure to risks further in the face of default threats in the United States and Europe.
"There is rising risk that disappointment at the EU Summit (21st July) on the absence of support measures for Spain and Italy will see the crisis worsen. This is our base case scenario, given that Europe will deal with Greece more than one year too late," Royal Bank of Scotland strategists said in a note.
European Stocks Advance on Improved Earnings (Source: Bloomberg)
European stocks gained, rebounding from a seven-month low, as companies from Novartis AG (NOVN) to International Business Machines Corp. reported earnings that beat estimates. U.S. index futures rose while Asian shares fell. Novartis, Europe’s second-biggest drugmaker by sales, climbed 2.6 percent. Technology companies rallied in Europe after IBM’s boosted its forecasts. Electrolux AB (ELUXB), the world’s second-biggest appliance maker, plunged 10 percent as profit trailed projections. The benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 Index rallied 0.7 percent to 264.02 at 8:32 a.m. in London. The gauge has fallen 9.4 percent from this year’s high on Feb. 17 amid concern the region’s debt crisis is spreading, just short of the 10 percent drop that strategists define as a correction. The retreat has left the European gauge trading at about 12.4 times the reported earnings of its companies, the cheapest since 2008.
US corn rebounds as hot weather hurts crop, wheat firm
SINGAPORE, July 19 (Reuters) - U.S. corn futures bounced back on Tuesday, rising more than 1 percent, while soybeans were steady following a U.S. government report which showed more-than-expected decline in crop ratings as a result of hot weather.
"The reduction in crop ratings was more than what some had expected, so it is contributing to the strength today," said Adam Davis, a senior commodity analyst at Melbourne-based fund Merricks Capital.
Indonesia's Sulawesi H1 cocoa exports down 41 pct yr/yr
JAKARTA, July 19 (Reuters) - Indonesia's cocoa bean exports from the main growing island of Sulawesi dropped more than 40 percent to 64,591 tonnes in January-June as bad harvest hit production in the world's third-largest producer, industry data showed on Tuesday.
Indonesia could see full-year output falling to its lowest since at least 2004 at 420,000 tonnes after erratic weather triggered the spread of a deadly fungal disease in Sulawesi.
Philippines likely hit Q2 rice output forecast - official
MANILA, July 19 (Reuters) - The Philippines' unmilled rice harvest in the second quarter may have hit the government's forecast of 3.57 million tonnes, putting it on track to meet a record full-year target output of 17.46 million tonnes, a farm official said on Tuesday.
Good weather and government support via improved irrigation would make the full-year rice production target achievable, Maura Lizarondo, assistant director at the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS), told Reuters.
Cameroon Arabica coffee exports down by a third
YAOUNDE, July 18 (Reuters) - Cameroon's Arabica coffee exports were down by a third at the end of May to 1,277 tonnes for the 2010/11 season, compared with the same period in the previous one, according to statistics from two industry boards.
The statistics from the National Cocoa and Coffee Board (NCCB) and the Cocoa and Coffee Interprofessional Board (CCIB) sent to Reuters on Monday showed the Central African country exported 1,923 tonnes of arabica coffee for the same period in the 2009/10 season.
Ghana sees cocoa output hitting 1 mln tonnes
ACCRA, July 18 (Reuters) - Cocoa output in Ghana this season should hit a million tonnes by the end of August, the industry regulator said on Monday, enabling it to reach an official target that had been set for the 2012/13 season two years early.
"Total output now is more than 980,000 tonnes and we should be hitting 1 million by August ending," Cocobod Deputy Chief Executive Yaw Adu-Ampomah told Reuters.
Ivorian rainy weather mixed for cocoa crop-farmers
July 18 (Reuters) - Rainy weather punctuated by occasional bursts of sunshine in Ivory Coast's principal cocoa regions last week had mixed results on the last stage of the mid-crop, farmers said on Monday.
The mid-crop in Ivory Coast, which runs from April to September, is tailing off. Farmers say they needs rainfall to decrease and to see more sun to strengthen the development of pods to be harvested until September, farmers said.
Brazil coffee forecast warm for cold risky end-July
BRASILIA, July 18 (Reuters) - Brazil's coffee areas are expected to stay warm at the end of July, the period when risk of crop-damaging frost is usually at its highest, the extended forecast by private forecaster Somar showed on Monday.
Forecasters say a combination of weather patterns has raised the risk of frost in coffee areas this year to its highest in more than a decade. Those fears were realized in June with a fairly minor frost affecting three coffee states.
Brent rises on weaker dollar, likely fall in U.S. crude stocks
SINGAPORE, July 19 (Reuters) - Brent crude rose 20 cents to $116.23 a barrel on Tuesday, reversing the previous session's losses, as the dollar weakened and on expectations oil stocks in the world's top consumer U.S. rose for a seventh week.
"The weakening dollar is pretty much all I can say" is the reason for Brent to recover, said Benson Wang of Commodity Broking Services in Sydney.
High oil prices threaten to stoke South China Sea tensions
SINGAPORE, July 19 (Reuters) - Sustained oil prices above $100 could further heighten tensions over control of the South China Sea, as Vietnam, China and other Asian nations look to stake their claim on potential untapped energy resources and reduce their dependence on costly imports.
Brent oil prices briefly rose above $127 a barrel in April of this year, the highest since 2008 just before the start of the financial crisis, and sustained levels above $100 were reached in late January on an evolving combination of recovering global demand and reduced supplies caused by unrest in Libya.
London copper gains for 3rd day on China demand hopes
SINGAPORE, July 19 (Reuters) - London copper drifted higher for a third straight day on Tuesday as tight global supplies and hopes Chinese demand will remain firm helped offset investor anxiety over sovereign debt concerns in the United States and Europe.
"Despite all these uncertainties, we've seen copper very resilient to any downside risk and that could also be explained beyond the supply issues by what we see as healthy appetite from the Chinese despite their price sensitivity," said Xin Yi Chen, commodity analyst at Barclays Capital.
Tokyo Steel keeps August prices unchanged
TOKYO, July 19 (Reuters) - Tokyo Steel Manufacturing Co , Japan's biggest construction steelmaker, kept its prices of all products for August shipment unchanged, saying that political confusion and the yen's strength were clouding the market outlook.
The company kept its price for H-beams, used in construction of buildings, at 76,000 yen ($961) per tonne for a third straight month.
Gold hovers below record, debt worries support
SINGAPORE, July 19 (Reuters) - Gold held steady below its record high on Tuesday after 11 days of consecutive gains, as growing sovereign debt worries on either side of the Atlantic continued to support sentiment.
"If we do see some progress in the debt ceiling talks, it could encourage profit-taking by short-term investors," said Ong Yi Ling, an analyst at Phillip Futures.
No comments:
Post a Comment