Monday, Nov. 09, 2009
Asia stocks track US higher; Europe narrowly mixed
Comments (0) | 
E-Mail
Print
tool name
closeAsian stocks extended their gains Tuesday after Wall Street touched its highest level for 2009 amid optimism low interest rates would continue to power this year's rally in global markets. European shares were narrowly mixed.
Although Asia's rally ran out of momentum toward the end of the session, it marked the region's third straight advance. Oil and gold prices softened, while the dollar slipped against the yen.
Investors were cheered by an overnight surge in the U.S., where the Dow Jones rocketed 2 percent Monday to its best finish since Oct. 3, 2008. Also boosting traders' moods in Asia was news the Group of 20 major countries will keep economic stimulus measures in place, as well as relatively healthy earnings reports at Japanese companies, analysts said.
Francis Lun, general manager of Fulbright Securities Ltd. in Hong Kong, said more signs of trouble for the global economy, including rising unemployment in the U.S., were nevertheless assuring investors that existing loose-money policies would continue.
"It is a matter of twisted logic," he said. "They forget the fact that the economy is lousy and we are still in a recession."
As trading started in Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.3 percent, Germany's DAX was up 0.1 percent and France's CAC-40 shed 0.2 percent. Wall Street futures, meanwhile, augured a lackluster opening. Dow futures lost 0.3 percent to 10,160, while S&P futures were off 0.4 percent at 1,087.10.
Japan's Nikkei stock average added 61.74 points, or 0.6 percent, to close at 9,870.73, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged up 0.3 percent to 22,268.16, though traded well of the day's highs.
South Korea's markets gained 0.4 percent to 1,582.30. Shares were also higher in mainland China, Australia, Taiwan and the Philippines. But India's market fell 0.4 percent.
In the U.S., the Dow rose 203.52, or 2 percent, to 10,226.94. The index hit 10,228.23 at one point, topping its previous 12-month trading high of 10,119.46 set last month.
The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 23.78, or 2.2 percent.
Oil prices drifted below $79 in Asia, with benchmark crude for December delivery down 83 cents to $78.60. The contract rose $2 overnight.
In gold, prices slipped $1.6, or about 0.2 percent, to $1,099.8 an ounce.
The dollar was trading at 89.72 yen, down from 89.95 yen. The euro edged lower to $1.4981.
What you should know about comments on SanLuisObispo.com
SanLuisObispo.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. See our full terms of service here.
Here are some rules of the road:
- Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "report abuse" button. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.
- Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.
- Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.
- Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand. If you want to discuss an issue with a specific user, click on his profile name and leave him a public message.
- Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.
- Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.
- Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.
- Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.
You should also know that The Tribune does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "report abuse" button to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at webmaster@sanluisobispo.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.
If you submit a comment, the username of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them, but you may ask our staff to retract one of your comments by sending an email to webmaster@sanluisobispo.com. Again, make sure you note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us your profile name.
About comments
Reader comments on SanLuisObispo.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Tribune. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.