Asia Stocks Surge as Yen Weakens, Tech Shares Advance

Asian stocks advanced as technology shares continued a rebound and hawkish comments from a Federal Reserve official allayed concerns about the strength of the world’s largest economy. The dollar held gains as the yen weakened.

Japanese shares climbed to the highest since August 2015. Samsung Electronics Co. led tech shares for a second day, after the Nasdaq 100 Index jumped the most since November. Hong Kong equities erased an earlier advance ahead of MSCI Inc.’s decision on whether to include China’s domestic equities in benchmark indexes. Treasuries fell Monday after Fed Bank of New York President William Dudley said halting the tightening cycle now would imperil the economy.

Here are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

· Japan’s Topix rose 1 percent as of 1:11 p.m. in Tokyo, gaining for a third day to the highest since August 2015.

· Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index slipped 0.4 percent. The country’s largest banks retreated following ratings downgrades from Moody’s Investors Service.

· South Korea’s Kospi was little changed. Samsung rose 2.8 percent, heading toward the biggest two-day increase since October.

· Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.1 percent, reversing an earlier gain of 0.5 percent, and the Shanghai Composite Index edged up less than 0.1 percent.

· Futures on the S&P 500 Index increased 0.1 percent. The underlying gauge rose 0.8 percent Monday as tech and health-care shares climbed. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.9 percent.

Currencies

· The yen slid 0.1 percent to 111.68 per dollar. The South Korean won dropped 0.4 percent, and the Australian dollar lost less than 0.1 percent.

· The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was flat after advancing 0.4 percent on Monday. The measure has been climbing after touching the lowest level since October last week.

Bonds

· The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 2.19 percent, after rising four basis points Monday.

· Australian 10-year yields increased two basis points to 2.42 percent.

Commodities

· Oil was little changed at $44.22 a barrel, after settling at the lowest level since November on Monday. Crude has fallen for four weeks straight as U.S. drillers continue to add rigs, blunting OPEC-led efforts to rebalance an oversupplied market.

· Gold rose 0.1 percent to $1,245.19 an ounce, after closing Monday at the lowest in more than a month.

Source: Bloomberg

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