Hong Kong (AFP) – The dollar rose in Asia Tuesday as the chances of an interest rate hike were further boosted, but stock traders were unable to capitalise on a positive lead from Wall Street.
US markets rallied Monday on the back of another upbeat round of corporate earnings and a provisional reading that showed activity in the US manufacturing sector expanded at a faster rate than expected.
That came as St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said December was “most likely” the best time for a tightening of borrowing costs.
“Bullard did not mince words and explicitly gave the green light for a December lift-off, but suggested that the longer term rate cycle is much lower,” Stephen Innes, a senior trader at OANDA, said in a note.
The Fed meets next month but is expected to stand pat as that comes just days before the presidential election.
In early Asian trade, the dollar bought 104.40 yen, up from 104.21 yen in New York, while the euro and pound also retreated against the US unit.
Most other Asia-Pacific currencies also weakened, with the South Korean won down 0.7 percent and Australian dollar 0.3 percent off.
The Canadian dollar was also down on expectations a free-trade deal with the EU was on the verge of collapse despite seven years of talks.
The weaker yen provided further support to Japan’s exporters, lifting the Nikkei 0.6 percent higher by the break.
Shares in Kyushu Railway rocketed 20 percent as the former state-owned firm made its Tokyo trading debut after the year’s third biggest initial public offering worth $4.0 billion.
“With the US economy looking solid and a rate hike by year-end looming in investors’ minds, the yen is weakening, and boosting expectations for a recovery in earnings in the second half of the year,” Toshihiko Matsuno, a senior strategist at SMBC Friend Securities Co. in Tokyo., told Bloomberg News.
But while Sydney rose 0.7 percent, Asia’s other major indices turned lower. Hong Kong lost 0.1 percent, Shanghai shed 0.2 percent, Seoul was 0.7 percent off and Singapore gave up 0.1 percent.
Oil traders were moving uneasily on worries about an agreed output cut by OPEC and Russia, with comments from Iraq’s oil minister that it should be exempt fuelling worries the deal can be implemented.
– Key figures around 0230 GMT –
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.6 percent at 17,341.15 (break)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng: DOWN 0.1 percent at 23,586.73
Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.2 percent at 3,123.41
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0875 from $1.0877 Friday
Dollar/yen: UP at 104.40 yen from 104.21 yen
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2220 from $1.2239
Euro/pound: UP at 89.01 pence from 88.87 pence
Oil – West Texas Intermediate: DOWN six cents at $50.46 a barrel
Oil – Brent North Sea: DOWN seven cents at $51.39 a barrel
New York – Dow: UP 0.4 percent at 18,233.03 (close)
London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.5 percent at 6,986.40 (close)
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