China’s Stock-Index Futures Rise After Manufacturing Data

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China’s stock-index futures rose after a holiday as data showed manufacturing expanded more than forecast, signaling growth may be starting to stabilize in the world’s second-biggest economy.

Futures on the CSI 300 Index expiring in May, the most active contract, gained 0.2 percent to 4,780.60 as of 9:22 a.m. local time. The official manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index was at 50.1 in April, compared with economists’ median estimate of 50. HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics are due to release their PMI index for April at 9:45 a.m. Monday. Numbers above 50 signal expansion.

The Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.8 percent to 4,441.66 on Thursday. The gauge advanced 19 percent in April, the third straight monthly gain, on expectations the government will further cut borrowing costs to support the economy.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell 1.2 percent to 14,431.11. The CSI 300 Index declined 0.5 percent. The Hang Seng Index lost 0.9 percent. The Bloomberg China-US Equity Index, the measure of the most-traded U.S.-listed Chinese companies, added 0.5 percent in New York on Friday. Markets in the mainland and Hong Kong were closed on Friday for a holiday.

The Communist Party leadership has vowed to step up targeted controls to counter downward pressure on the economy, avoiding any mention of full-blown stimulus.

Source : Bloomberg

Gold Near 6-week Low on Stronger Dollar, US Rate Hike Fears

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Gold languished near a six-week low on Monday, unable to recover from a three-day losing streak, as the dollar gained on signs of stabilisation in the U.S. economy, and fears the Federal Reserve would soon hike interest rates.

Spot gold was firm at $1,178.50 an ounce by 0042 GMT, not far from a six-week low of $1,170.20 reached on Friday.

The metal has lost about 2 percent in the past three sessions since the Fed signalled on Wednesday that it saw the recent slowdown in the U.S. economy as transitory and was not ruling out an interest rate rise this year.

A strong economy diminishes gold's appeal as a haven, while higher rates could dent demand for non-interest-paying bullion.

The Fed could raise interest rates as soon as June, two top U.S. central bankers said on Friday, so long as economic data strengthens as expected from a dismal first quarter.

That view is at odds with the view of many traders, whose bets in the interest-rate futures markets suggest they have all but discounted a June rate hike and now expect the Fed to wait until December before raising rates for the first time since 2006.

Data on Friday continued to show mixed U.S. economic data. Consumer sentiment rose but manufacturing and construction was weak.

Source : Reuters

Dollar Advances as Yen Bears Retreat Before U.S. Payrolls Data

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The dollar held a three-day gain versus the yen even as bullish bets for the greenback were cut to levels last seen before Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office in 2012 promising reflationary policies.

The greenback was near a three-week high against the yen before data at the end of this week expected to show U.S. unemployment fell last month. The dollar is little changed versus Japan’s currency this year even as the Federal Reserve discusses raising interest rates and the Bank of Japan carries out unprecedented easing. Australia’s dollar fell for a fourth day as traders see 73 percent odds its central bank will lower borrowing costs Tuesday.

The dollar was at 120.20 yen as of 7:37 a.m. in Singapore, after climbing 1 percent last week to 120.15. It rose 0.1 percent on Monday to $1.1190 per euro and was up 0.3 percent to 78.31 cents against the Aussie. Japanese markets are closed from Monday through Wednesday for public holidays.

Source : Bloomberg

Asian Stocks Outside Japan Fall Before China Manufacturing Data

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Asian stocks outside of Japan fell as investors awaited a report on Chinese manufacturing.

The MSCI Asia Pacific excluding Japan Index slipped 0.2 percent to 512.28 as of 8:02 a.m. in Hong Kong. The measure in April posted its biggest monthly advance since January 2012 as Chinese equities rallied on expectations policy makers will act to bolster growth in the world’s second-largest economy.

The final reading of a private gauge of Chinese manufacturing is expected to signal contraction for a second month in April, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists before the report Monday.

China’s official factory measure for April suggested that growth may be starting to stabilize after the government spurred infrastructure investment and eased monetary policy. The Purchasing Managers’ Index was at 50.1, according to a report released Friday by the statistics bureau and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing in Beijing. Readings above 50 signal expansion.

Source : Bloomberg