Yen Gains as Bullish Bets Reach Four-Year High Before BOJ Meets

The yen rose the most among its developed-market peers after Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda showed little appetite for an immediate expansion of stimulus before the central bank sets policy on Friday. Japan’s currency halted a two-day slide after Kuroda said in an interview on Jan. 22 in Davos, Switzerland that “at this stage, we don’t think the current market situation has been affecting corporate behavior unduly.” The yen...

WTI Oil Books Best One-Day Gain Since August

Oil futures rocketed higher on Friday, stretching their rally to a second straight session and marking the best one-day jump since August, according to FactSet data. March West Texas Intermediate crude finished at $32.19 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It rose $2.66, or 9%, for the session. For the week, it gained 9.4% based on Friday's closing level for the February contract, which expired Wednesday. Source: MarketW...

Asia Stocks Extend Global Rebound as Japan, Material Shares Rise

Asian stocks extended the rally that sent global equities to their biggest gain in 3 1/2 years as Japanese shares and materials companies climbed. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 0.5 percent to 119.07 as of 9:02 a.m. in Tokyo, with materials and health-care shares leading the advance. Japan’s Topix index climbed 1.1 percent as markets across the region extended gains that began after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi signaled...

Japanese Stocks Advance for Second Day Amid Stimulus Speculation

Japanese stocks jumped, heading for their biggest two-day gain since November 2014, as speculation central banks will step in to bolster markets continued fueling a recovery in shares. The Topix index added 1.1 percent to 1,388.99 as of 9:02 a.m. in Tokyo, extending Friday’s 5.6 percent advance and headed for the first back-to-back gain of the year. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 0.8 percent to 17,087.47. The yen traded...

U.S. Stocks Rally Amid Stimulus Optimism Led by Energy Shares

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index capped its strongest two-day rally in three months, amid speculation central banks around the world will act to support the global economy even as the Federal Reserve tightens policy. The S&P 500 gained 2 percent to 1,906.88 at 4 p.m. in New York, the best back-to-back increase since October after turning positive for the week. Equities continued a snap-back from the worst start to a year since...