Asian shares were mixed Monday, as cautiousness set in after markets were earlier cheered by upbeat signs from Wall Street, a strengthening US dollar and promises from the Group of 20 nations over the weekend to support global growth.
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In Monday afternoon trading, the greenback rose to 106.31 yen from 106.19 yen Friday in NY.
France’s CAC 40 rose 0.6 percent to 4,408, while Germany’s DAX added 0.9 percent to 10,238. Gold also struggled, dipping 0.5 percent to 1,316 an ounce.
In the Asian trading, the Australian dollar rose to a 6-day high of 0.9825 against the Canadian dollar, from Friday’s closing value of 0.9795.
Policy makers from the Group of 20 countries agreed to work to support global growth and better share the benefits of trade, in a weekend meeting dominated by the impact of Britain’s exit from Europe and fears of rising protectionism. That’s helping ease some investor worries.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS rose 0.1 percent to stand just below its nine-month peak hit on Thursday. It surpassed its prior record set Wednesday.
The South Korean won eased 0.2 percent, the Thai baht gave up 0.1 percent, Singapore’s dollar also dipped 0.1 percent and the Indonesian rupiah was off 0.3 percent. The gains sent all three indexes to their fourth consecutive winning week, their longest streak since March.
Tokyo investors are now eyeing central bank meetings in the United States and Japan as well as the kickoff to Japan’s latest earnings season, said Hitoshi Asaoka, a senior strategist with Mizuho Trust & Banking.
As well as ongoing talk of central bank stimulus and low oil prices keeping down inflation, this week also sees a series of bond redemptions that will mean investors have cash to buy again.
The bank says that the monetary action alone may not be enough to pull down the yen, particularly as Japan’s trade surplus is staring to widen.
ENERGY: The price of US crude fell 29 cents to $43.90 a barrel. A majority of economists surveyed by Bloomberg project the BOJ will step up stimulus this week, even after Governor Haruhiko Kuroda ruled out the prospect of so-called helicopter money, while the Fed is expected to stand pat on interest rates. The Fed pulled rates off their record low in December but has held pat since then.
Against the US and the New Zealand dollars, the aussie climbed to 0.7481 and 1.0719 from last week’s closing quotes of 0.7455 and 1.0647, respectively.
Crude oil for September delivery are now down $0.02 to $44.17 a barrel.
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Brent crude futures traded at $45.83 per barrel, near Friday’s low of $45.17, its lowest since May 11.
