By Wayne Cole
SYDNEY (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar held on to broad-based gains in Asia on Tuesday in a boon for shares of Japanese exporters but a burden for oil, gold and stocks in the energy majors.
As the dollar finally broke to a six-year peak on the yen and a one-year top on the euro, Brent oil sank to 16-month lows while gold carved out a three-month trough.
A falling yen tends to be viewed as positive for Japanese exporters and corporate profits, and helped nudge the Nikkei <.N225> to its highest close since January.
The broader Topix <.TOPX> added 0.2 percent but again failed to clear stiff resistance at this year's peak of 1,308.08. A break there would put it on ground last trod in July 2008.
According to Nomura Securities, a fall of 1 yen against the dollar boosts aggregate operating profits at Topix firms by 300 billion yen.
Markets elsewhere in the region were subdued, with MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan <.MIAPJ0000PUS> down a slight 0.1 percent.
Despite market concerns over China's economy, stocks there have been buoyed by talk of more stimulus and reform measures.
The CSI300 <.CSI300> of the leading Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listings edged higher on Tuesday having put in its best performance in a year last week with gains of almost 5 percent.
Financial spreadbetters in Europe predicted opening losses of between 0.3 and 0.4 percent for the FTSE 100 <.FTSE>, DAX <.GDAXI> and CAC 40 <.FCHI>.
On Wall Street, the Dow <.DJI> closed down 0.15 percent, while the S&P 500 <.SPX> fell 0.31 percent but the Nasdaq <.IXIC> eked out a 0.2 percent gain.
Energy led the decline, with the S&P energy index <.SPNY> off 1.6 percent and Exxon Mobil
Investors were eagerly awaiting the launch of new products by Apple
Apple has fed high expectations, with promises by executives that the company's best product pipeline in 25 years is being readied inside its secretive facilities.
DOLLAR UP, POUND DOWN
In currencies, the dollar index <.DXY> climbed as far as 84.496, bringing into view the July 2013 peak of 84.753. A break there will take it to highs not seen since July 2010.
Giving bulls encouragement was research from the San Francisco Fed which noted that investors are pricing in a lower trajectory for interest rates rises than members of the Fed itself are.
"The market's interpretation is that perhaps it had better re-price those expectations," said Emma Lawson, senior currency strategist at National Australia Bank.
As a result, yields on 10-year U.S. Treasuries rose to 2.490 percent
The greenback raced to a high of 106.33 yen
Sterling was nailed to 10-month lows after a second opinion poll found a marked increase in support for Scottish independence just 10 days before the country votes on whether to break away from the United Kingdom.
The TNS poll found support for independence had risen six points to 38 percent, just a pip behind the 'No' camp at 39 percent. That follows a YouGov poll that showed approval of independence at 51 percent against the unity camp's 49 percent, the first to find a majority for a 'Yes' vote.
The YouGov poll caused tremors in financial markets on Monday, knocking the pound lower and hurting stocks of companies with a large Scottish presence. Sterling was at a fresh trough of $1.6066
The gains for the dollar meant losses for commodities, with gold down at $1,255.40 an ounce
Brent crude oil
(Editing by Shri Navaratnam & Kim Coghill)
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