Australian Dollar, Oil Gain as Japanese Stocks Rally

"March 1 (Bloomberg) -- The Australian dollar rose and Brent oil gained for a second day, while Japanese shares rallied after China’s manufacturing exceeded forecasts and South Korean exports rose by the most in six months. Gold rebounded from the biggest drop in three years.


Australia’s dollar strengthened 0.2 percent to $1.0754 as of 10:57 a.m. in Tokyo. The dollar and yen weakened against most major counterparts. Brent oil increased 0.2 percent to $122.96 a barrel. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average jumped 0.5 percent, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index slipped 0.2 percent. Spot gold jumped 1.3 percent after a 4.9 percent plunge yesterday.

China’s manufacturing improved for a third straight month in February, signaling the world’s second-biggest economy is maintaining momentum amid Europe’s debt crisis. U.S. equities fell yesterday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke’s remarks to Congress damped speculation of more quantitative easing to support economic growth.

“Risk-on sentiment is definitely on the table at the moment,” said Justin Harper, head of research at IG Markets in Singapore. “You’re seeing the U.S. dollar, the yen, safe havens, start to show some pressure there as people think things are maybe getting better.”

Asian stocks entered a bull market yesterday after central- bank easing from the U.S. and Europe to China and Japan fueled the fastest rally in more than two years. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index has risen 20 percent from a two-year low in October and advanced for the past 10 weeks, the longest run since its inception in 1988.

Treasury Holdings

China, the largest foreign U.S. creditor, reduced its holdings of U.S. government securities last year for the first time since the Treasury Department began compiling the data in 2001. The country held $1.15 trillion Treasuries as of Dec. 31, down from $1.16 trillion at the end of 2010, according to Treasury data released yesterday.

South Korea’s overseas shipments rose 22.7 percent last month from a year earlier after falling a revised 7 percent in January, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said. The median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of 14 economists was for a 16.4 percent gain. South Korean markets are closed for a holiday today.

TDK Corp., a Japanese maker of electronic equipment, jumped 5 percent after saying it plans to buy back shares.

Newcrest Mining Ltd., Australia’s largest gold mining company, fell 2.5 percent. BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s biggest mining company, slipped 1.1 percent. Silver, gold and lead fell more than 4 percent yesterday, leading declines in commodities.

To contact the reporters on this story: Lynn Thomasson in Hong Kong at lthomasson@bloomberg.net ; Kristine Aquino in Singapore at kaquino1@bloomberg.net "

===

Steven Morris CA (SA)
Mobie : 083 943 1858
Fax: 086 671 2498
E-Mail: steven@global.co.za

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device