Asian Index Futures to Rupee Forwards Gain After Brent Oil Jumps

Bloomberg (17/12) -- Asian index futures rose as investors speculated over the timeline for stimulus cuts with the Federal Reserve set to meet from today. The yen held its advance and Indian rupee forwards climbed after crude oil and precious metals led commodity gains.

Futures on Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index added 0.6 percent while contracts on South Korean and Hong Kong gauges rose at least 0.9 percent. Nikkei 225 Stock Average futures climbed 0.9 percent to 15,360 by 3 a.m. in Osaka, and fell 0.9 percent to 15,340 in Chicago. The yen was steady at 103.07 per dollar and rupee forwards climbed 0.2 percent. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index snapped a four-day drop to rally 0.6 percent as Brent crude surged 1.5 percent and silver jumped 1.4 percent. Australia’s central bank releases minutes of its most recent meeting today, with the government to issue its interim economic outlook. Both the euro zone and the U.S. report on inflation today as economists see an increased chance Fed policy makers will announce a cut to the bond purchases that have fueled global asset gains after their two-day meeting. China’s Treasury holdings neared a record in October as the U.S. maintained the $85 billion monthly bond-buying program. “Views on whether the Fed will start scaling back asset purchases are mixed,” Mark Smith, a senior economist in Wellington at ANZ Bank New Zealand Ltd., wrote in a client note. “The strength of recent data suggests this can’t be ruled out, setting the scene for volatility.”