Asian Futures Rise Amid S&P 500 Record While Oil Extends Decline

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Futures on indexes from Japan to Australia climbed as growth in U.S. manufacturing propelled the Standard & Poor™s 500 Index to a record. The yen held near a 3 1/2-week low versus the dollar while oil extended declines.

Nikkei 225 Stock Average futures rose 0.6 percent to 14,900 in Chicago as contracts on Australia™s S&P/ASX 200 Index and gauges in Hong Kong and South Korea added at least 0.1 percent. Futures on the S&P 500 were little changed after the benchmark U.S. measure rose 0.7 percent to an all-time high of 1,885.52. Japan™s currency was at 103.65 per dollar following four declining days, while Asian emerging-market currency forwards signaled gains. Oil in New York fell a third day.

Investors shrugged off conflicting data on Chinese manufacturing, focusing on an acceleration in U.S. factory output for March and euro-zone manufacturing growth near the fastest pace in almost three years. A private report today is projected to show U.S. employers added more workers last month before non-farm payrolls data due April 4. The Bank of Japan reports on inflation while in China, a newspaper said that a building-materials company missed a coupon payment on its high-yield bonds.

Copy Source : Bloomberg