Asian Stocks Decline a Third Day as Bullard Says New Fed Buying Unlikely (Bloomberg)
Asian stocks (MXAPJ) outside of Japan dropped for a third day after Federal Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said the Fed probably won’t begin a new round of bond purchases amid “encouraging” U.S. economic data. Samsung Electronics Co. (005930), the world’s second-biggest maker of mobile phones by sales, decreased 2.1 percent in Seoul. Hutchison Whampoa Ltd., the utilities company and port operator that gets more than half of revenue from Europe, fell 1.3 percent in Hong Kong after European economic confidence and German factory orders plunged. HTC Corp. dropped 3.8 percent in Taipei as the maker of smartphones posted its first drop in quarterly profit in two years. “An improving U.S. economy doesn’t necessarily mean we’re firmly in a recovery,” said Lee King Fuei, a Singapore-based fund manager at Schroders Plc, which oversees about $326 billion of assets globally. “The question is how sustainable that will be. Europe remains a risk. We’ll probably see more pain before we see a resolution.”
GLOBAL MARKETS-Euro, stocks down as debt jitters trump U.S. data
SINGAPORE, Jan 9 (Reuters) - The euro sank against the dollar and the yen and Asian stocks stalled on Monday, as renewed gloom about the fallout from the European sovereign debt crisis overshadowed signs of vigour in the U.S. economy.
"Despite the positive U.S. employment data, investor focus remains largely on Europe, especially after the downgrade of Hungary's credit rating," said Lim Tae-geun, an analyst at Daewoo Securities in Seoul.
COMMODITIES-Up in 1st week of year though Europe fears stay
NEW YORK, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Commodities ended little changed on Friday, retaining most of the week's strong gains despite a resurgent dollar that reflected investor fears about Europe's debt crisis.
"This sovereign debt crisis will still be the overarching theme in the near-term," Credit Suisse analyst Stefan Graber said, adding that any gains in commodities would be limited given funding stress at European banks.
Brent crude edges up on Iran, supply worries
NEW YORK, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Brent crude prices edged up on Friday and gained more than 5 percent for the week as anxiety over Iran and potential supply disruptions countered the dollar's strength on better-than-expected U.S. jobs growth and concerns about Europe's economy.
"It was a the tug-of-war between concerns about Iran, Nigeria and signs of an improving U.S. economy supporting oil, and the stronger dollar and worry about the euro zone economy on the other side," said Richard Ilczyszyn, chief market strategist and founder of iitrader.com in Chicago.
NYMEX-Natural gas gains 3 pct on wintry weather outlook
NEW YORK, Jan 6 (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures rose nearly 3 percent on Friday, rising back above $3 per million British thermal units as some long-term weather forecasts called for more winter-like weather after a very mild start to the heating season.
MDA EarthSat forecasters called for a shot of cold late in the six to 10-day outlook, noting models were on track for a storm system to bring a shot of much below readings south and east in its wake, followed by high pressure.
Euro Coal-Prices rise 50c/T on short-covering
LONDON, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Prompt physical coal prices rose by 50-75 U.S. cents a tonne on Friday as players covered short positions and Indian buying showed signs of picking up after several months of a lull.
"Every rupee, every paisa counts for the consumers, even more now than before they want the lowest prices and they are looking at a variety of coals, South African, Australian, American," one major Indian trade buyer said.
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