Dollar Stronger After Payrolls as Japan Stocks Rally; Oil Slips

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The dollar solidified its climb, surging against emerging-market currencies and holding near a 13-year high against the yen amid mounting speculation U.S. interest rates will be increased as soon as September. Japanese stocks advanced with copper, while crude oil retreated.

The greenback was at 125.54 yen by 9:20 a.m. in Tokyo, after touching its strongest level since June 2002 on Friday. The Korean won and Malaysian ringgit slid at least 0.9 percent, while Turkey’s lira sank to a record low after the ruling party failed to win a majority in elections. Japan’s Topix index rose 0.2 percent, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index traded at a nine-week low as Korean shares fell. U.S. futures were little changed. U.S. oil lost 0.8 percent. Copper rose a second day.

Odds the Federal Reserve will boost benchmark rates in September rose to 33 percent after the best U.S. jobs report in five months, from 27 percent beforehand. Investors are now looking ahead to retail sales data due later in the week. Japan’s first-quarter growth was revised up in final figures Monday, with China to report on trade. Group of Seven leaders called for action over Greece at the weekend, with talks between the indebted nation and its creditors resuming Monday.

Employers in the U.S. added 280,000 workers to nonfarm payrolls in May, following April’s 221,000 increase. Economists had projected a climb of 226,000. The jobless rate rose to 5.5 percent from 5.4 percent. The data came a day after the International Monetary Fund questioned whether inflation was robust enough to warrant the first U.S. rate rise since 2006. The lender also expressed concern over the strong dollar.

Australian markets were closed for a holiday Monday.

Source : Bloomberg

China’s Exports Decline For a Third Month in Drag On Growth

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China’s exports declined in May for a third straight month and imports slumped for the seventh, underscoring weak external demand and a sluggish domestic environment.

Overseas shipments fell 2.8 percent from a year earlier in yuan value, the customs administration said in Beijing on Monday. That compared with the median estimate for a 4 percent decline in a Bloomberg survey of analysts. Imports slid 18.1 percent, leaving a trade surplus of 366.8 billion yuan ($59.1 billion).

China’s exports last month fell 2.5 percent from a year earlier in dollar terms, while imports plunged 17.6 percent, leaving a trade surplus of $59.49 billion, customs data showed.

The Shanghai Composite Index dropped below 5,000 briefly after the data were first reported by China Central Television and then gained 0.6 percent as of 10:37 a.m. local time.

The trade slowdown coincides with a slump in investment growth that is putting Premier Li Keqiang’s 2015 growth target of about 7 percent at risk. In response, officials have eased monetary policy and engineered a debt swap for local governments so they can keep funding infrastructure projects.

Source : Bloomberg

Hong Kong Stocks Open 0.41% Lower

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Hong Kong stocks fell 0.41 percent in the first few minutes of trade Monday after strong US data raised expectations the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates sooner rather than later.

The Hang Seng Index slipped 112.92 points to 27,147.24.

In mainland China the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index edged up 0.27 percent, or 13.40 points, to 5,036.50.

The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China's second exchange, lost 1.35 percent, or 41.29 points, to 3,010.67.

Source : AFP

Japan Stocks Rise as Yen Trades Near 13-Year Low After U.S. Jobs

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Japanese stocks rose, buoyed by exporters, as the yen traded near its weakest against the dollar since 2002 after a strong U.S. jobs report.

The Topix index climbed 0.4 percent to 1,671.87 as of 9:06 a.m. in Tokyo after falling 0.4 percent last week for its first weekly decline in a month. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 0.4 percent Monday to 20,534.83. The yen traded at 125.58 per dollar after weakening 1 percent on Friday as the payrolls report fueled bets the U.S. economy can withstand higher interest rates. Japan’s economy expanded more than estimated in the first quarter, data showed today.

The odds of an interest rate hike in September improved after the best report on U.S. jobs in five months. Employers added 280,000 workers in May, beating economist estimates for 226,000, figures from the Labor Department showed Friday. Average hourly earnings rose 2.3 percent from a year earlier, exceeding the average gain since the current expansion began six years ago.

Japan’s economy grew at an annualized pace of 3.9 percent in the first quarter, revised higher from an initial reading of 2.4 percent, a report showed today. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had predicted an expansion of 2.8 percent.

Source : Bloomberg

Asian Stock Gauge Holds at Two-Month Low on Fed Rate Outlook

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Asia’s benchmark stock index held at a two-month low after better-than-forecast U.S. employment data bolstered the case for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates this year.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slipped less than 0.1 percent to 147.83 as of 9:03 a.m. in Tokyo. The measure slid 2.3 percent last week, closing Friday at the lowest since April 3. Bets in interest-rate futures showed the odds the Fed will boost borrowing costs in September rose to 33 percent on Friday after the best U.S. jobs report in five months, from 27 percent before the data.

A gauge of global bonds erased its 2015 gains last week as signs of price growth in the euro area reignited a fixed-income selloff. Yields on 10-year Treasuries rose on Friday to the highest since October.

Japan’s Topix index added 0.3 percent. New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index was little changed. South Korea’s Kospi index fell 0.2 percent. Markets in Australia are closed for a holiday, while those in China and Hong Kong have yet to open.

The Shanghai Composite Index climbed 1.5 percent on Friday, capping a 8.9 percent advance last week, the most since December. Price swings are widening, with the Shanghai index’s 100-day volatility measure at the highest level in more than five years.

Source : Bloomberg