Dollar Holds Gains on Monetary Policy Divergence; Kiwi Declines

The dollar held gains from last week against most major peers amid speculation the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates as early as April as other major central banks continue monetary easing.The U.S. currency advanced to match a two-year high versus the euro after European Central Bank Vice President Vitor Constancio told German magazine Wirtschaftswoche that policy makers arent ruling out quantitative easing. The greenback held...

Asian Stocks Advance Third Day as Materials Shares Lead Gains

Asian stocks rose for a third day, led by materials companies, as crude futures rebounded. Australias benchmark index headed for its biggest two-day gain in three years.The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.3 percent to 137.34 as of 9:05 a.m. in Tokyo. The gauge jumped by the most in two months on Dec. 19 amid a global equities rally after the Federal Reserve last week pledged to be patient on the timeline for interest-rate increases. Australias...

Japanese Stocks Gain a Third Day as Oil Price Rises, Yen Weakens

Japanese stocks rose for a third day, led by energy companies after crude oil prices gained and the yen held losses against the dollar. The Topix added 0.5 percent to 1,417.10 as of 9:01 a.m. in Tokyo as all but two of its 33 industry groups advanced. The measure has erased it losses for December and is on course to rise 8.7 percent this year. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 0.2 percent to 17,651.33 today. The Bank of Japan releases...

S&P 500 Climbs Near Record Close After Three-Day Rally on Fed

U.S. stocks rose, sending the Standard & Poors 500 Index near its all-time high and erasing losses for December, after the Federal Reserve spurred the biggest three-day jump since 2011. The S&P 500 added 0.5 percent to 2,070.64 at 4 p.m. in New York, erasing all its losses for the month and approaching its previous closing high reached Dec. 5. The benchmark gauge is up 3.4 percent for the week, the most since October. Trading ...