Asian shares rise, euro steadies on Europe hopes
TOKYO, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Asian shares rose and the euro steadied, keeping gains from the previous day as investors grew more confident about European leaders coming to a broad agreement to contain the region's debt crisis.
"A lot has already been priced in, so profit-taking flows will likely set initially and put downward pressure on the market after Wednesday, before the market consolidates," said Frances Cheung, senior strategist for Asia ex-Japan at Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong.
Asian Stocks Swing Between Gains, Losses Ahead of European Crisis Summit (Bloomberg)
Asian stocks swung between gains and losses as investors await the results of a European summit tomorrow where leaders are expected to hammer out details on enhancing the region’s bailout fund. Esprit Holdings Ltd. (330), a clothier that gets 79 percent of its revenue in Europe, lost 2.8 percent in Hong Kong. NGK Insulators Ltd. plunged 17 percent after a report the maker of industrial ceramics asked customers not to use some of its batteries following a fire. Komatsu Ltd. (6301), the world’s second- biggest construction machinery maker, rose 3.1 percent as rival Caterpillar Inc. (CAT)’s posted earnings that beat estimates. Cnooc Ltd. (883), China’s largest offshore energy explorer, rose 5.4 percent in Hong Kong after crude prices gained.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index was little changed at 119.17 at 5:05 p.m. in Tokyo after rising and falling as much as 0.3 percent. About the same number of stocks rose as fell on the index, with six of the gauge’s 10 industry groups retreating. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and fellow European leaders will meet in Brussels tomorrow for a second summit in four days to find ways to enhance the firepower of a regional rescue fund.
European Stocks Decline Before Crisis Summit (Bloomberg)
European stocks advanced for a third day as energy companies rallied after better-than-estimated earnings from BP Plc (BP/) and BG Group Plc. (BG/) Asian shares and U.S. index futures were little changed. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.2 percent to 242.61 at 8:55 a.m. in London. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and fellow leaders will return to Brussels tomorrow for a second summit in four days to discuss Europe’s bailout fund. Policy makers are jousting with banks over the size of losses they take on Greek bonds while deliberating over leveraging the fund after ruling out tapping the European Central Bank’s balance sheet. “We have a very difficult task for the politicians,” John Ricciardi, the head of investment at Kestrel Partners LLP in London, said in a Bloomberg Television interview with Linzie Janis. “All of us in the investing world are concerned by the continued high leverage in the European banking system.”
FOREX-Euro dips but supported ahead of EU summit
SINGAPORE, Oct 25 (Reuters) - The euro edged lower on Tuesday but held near a six-week high hit the previous day, supported by market expectations for European leaders to come up with broad measures to contain the region's debt crisis at a summit on Wednesday.
European leaders had neared a deal over the weekend on bank recapitalisation, and euro zone officials have said that France and Germany were close to agreement on how to leverage a euro zone rescue fund to stop bond market contagion.
US corn eases as US harvest gathers pace
SYDNEY, Oct 25 (Reuters) - U.S. corn futures pulled back in early Asian trading as the U.S. corn harvest gathered pace, according to government data released after trading ceased on Monday.
Traders also took profits after corn hit resistance on Monday at the $6.60 per bushel level, but soybeans futures continued to rise on strong demand from top soybeans importer China as well as encouraging Chinese manufacturing data.
Vietnam Oct coffee exports down 47.4 pct -govt
HANOI, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Coffee exports in October from Vietnam, the world's second-biggest producer after Brazil, slipped 47.4 percent from a year ago to an estimated 30,000 tonnes, or 500,000 60-kg bags, the government said on Tuesday.
The shipment estimate, mostly coming from stock of the 2010/2011 crop year that ended in September, was under traders' estimates of between 40,000 and 50,000 tonnes.
China buys new-crop Australian wheat, imports to rise
SINGAPORE, Oct 25 (Reuters) - China bought around half a million tonnes of new-crop Australian wheat in the last two weeks, more than half of what it purchased in the first nine months of this year, for its rapidly expanding livestock industry.
The country's wheat purchases come as the China National Grain and Oils Information Centre (CNGOIC) forecast corn and wheat imports to climb in 2011/12, a bullish factor for global prices.
China 2011/12 wheat, corn imports to surge-CNGOIC
BEIJING, Oct 25 (Reuters) - China is expected to import 5 million tonnes of corn in 2011/2012 (Oct/Sept) as the world's second-largest consumer has boosted imports following declines in global corn prices, said the China National Grain and Oils Information Centre (CNGOIC).
China purchased 3-4 million tonnes of corn in the first half of this year as domestic supply has been tight, the official think tank said in a report posted on its website (www.grain.gov.cn).
Brent steady; U.S. oil rises on company earnings
SINGAPORE, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Brent was steady near $111 as looming concern over Europe's economic health kept prices in check, while U.S. oil rose for a third straight day, boosted by improved company earnings.
"The real economy in Europe is not that strong," said Masaki Suematsu, a broker at Newedge in Tokyo.
Indonesian tin smelters may cut exports by 40 pct
PANGKAL PINANG, Indonesia, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Tin smelters in Indonesia, the world's top refined tin exporter, could impose a monthly quota that will slash shipments by about 40 percent, the Indonesian Tin Industry Association said on Tuesday, in a move to further boost prices.
Smelters in the main Indonesian tin-producing region of Bangka island, put in place a tin ingot export stoppage on October 1, in an effort to push benchmark prices above $25,000 a tonne.
Iron ore giants gamble on long-term Asian demand
SYDNEY, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Iron ore prices are in tailspin -- down 20 percent in the last month and clocking seven straight weeks of losses -- and the world's biggest producers couldn't seem to care less. Last year's contentious shift away from once-a-year pricing of ore in favour of shorter term contracts is now delivering lower returns on sales of more ore, yet miners appear unworried about the market's gloomy performance, moving full steam ahead on massive expansion projects.
China Sept refined copper imports at 16-month high
HONG KONG, Oct 24 (Reuters) - China's imports of refined copper rose 17 percent on the month in September to hit a 16-month high on improved margins and increased stocking ahead of a peak demand season.
Arrivals of refined copper to the world's top consumer rose to 275,499 tonnes in September, the highest level since May 2010 and a gain of 13.9 percent from September 2010, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Monday.
Cautious on copper, China waits for prices to halve
SINGAPORE, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Copper will not recover any lustre soon after losing a quarter of its value since July, as China, the metal's top user and last hope in the face of crumbling Western demand, waits for prices to halve before it begins to rebuild stocks.
Supply worries stemming from a lengthy strike at the world's second-largest copper mine in Indonesia are being offset by bulging stocks and signs of slowdown in China, which saw its lowest growth in two years in the third quarter amid weakness in its two biggest markets, Europe and the United States.
Shanghai copper climbs on Europe hopes
SHANGHAI, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Shanghai copper hit its daily upper trade limit, climbing for a third straight session on growing optimism that European leaders would agree on a strategy to solve the region's debt woes at a meeting this week.
"Optimism over the euro zone crisis helped lift sentiment, along with the good performance of Asian equities today and the belief that copper prices have fallen so much that it is time for them to rebound again," Jinrui Futures analyst Zhao Kai.
Cheaper silver dominates festival sales in India
MUMBAI, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Small-sized silver bars and coins dominated festival sales in India, the world's top consumer, as precious metals consumers hit by inflation chose the cheaper white metal in hopes of future price gains.
On Monday, India celebrates Dhanteras, the first day of the five-day Diwali festival, considered auspicious for buying of precious metals.
METALS-Shanghai copper climbs on Europe hopes
SHANGHAI, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Shanghai copper hit its daily upper trade limit on Tuesday, climbing for a third straight session on growing optimism that European leaders would agree on a strategy to solve the region's debt woes at a meeting this week.
The most-active January copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange briefly halted trading after rising 7 percent to 57,240 yuan ($8,978.26) against the previous day's settlement price, hitting its limit up for the second day in a row.
PRECIOUS-Gold steady before EU summit; physicals resilient
SINGAPORE, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Gold prices held steady on Tuesday, as investors wait for European leaders to work out a strategy to solve the euro zone debt crisis at a meeting on Wednesday, while resilient physical demand from Asia also lent support.
Investors grew confident after a weekend European Union summit made some progress towards an agreement on how to contain the debt crisis, even though the final decision was deferred to a second summit on Wednesday.
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