Yen Jumps, Oil Extends Losses as Dollar Gains

The yen rose after the nation’s central bank offered to buy bonds for the third time in a week, while crude oil extended the worst two-day slump in four weeks. India’s Sensex was little changed ahead of a central bank rates decision.

The yen advanced as the Bank of Japan’s move to buy bonds maturing in five-to-10 years highlighted concerns about the durability of Governor Haruhiko Kuroda’s massive quantitative easing. Energy companies fell the most in the MSCI Asia Pacific Index, as crude tumbled for a third day on concern U.S. inventories are increasing. Copper led metals higher as workers at the world’s largest copper mine vowed to start a strike. Economists expect the Reserve Bank of India will cut interest rates that are already at a six-year low.

The MSCI All-World Country Index of shares has stalled about 2 percent shy of the record high reached in 2015 as investors look for more details from the Trump administration on promised spending increases and tax cuts, at the same time that data continue to paint a mixed picture on the pace of inflation in developed markets. Currencies fluctuated overnight as political concerns sent the euro sliding.

The BOJ bond purchases this week bring Kuroda closer to when he runs out of easily sale-able securities to buy. The stepped-up purchases were needed to stop 10-year yields from becoming unhinged from the BOJ’s target of around zero percent. The operations showcase how the central bank’s shift to targeting the yield curve hasn’t removed questions about the durability of its quantitative easing.

Here are the main market moves for today:

Stocks

· The MSCI Asia Pacific Index was little changed at 2:09 p.m. in Tokyo, with energy companies in the gauge dropping 0.7 percent for the biggest loss. The regional equities measure remains near its highest level since July 2015.

· The Topix was up 0.2 percent, recovering after erasing earlier gains on the BOJ’s move.

· South Korea’s Kospi Index fell 0.6 percent as Samsung Electronics Co. declined 1.1 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.5 percent and New Zealand’s benchmark was flat.

· Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slumped 0.1 percent, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.3 percent.

· Futures on the S&P 500 fell 0.1 percent, after the gauge rose less than a point Tuesday in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average touched an all-time high before the rally faded as oil majors slumped.

Currencies

· The yen rose the most among major currencies against the dollar, climbing 0.1 percent to 112.26 per dollar, after falling 0.1 percent earlier. The currency slid 0.6 percent the previous session.

· The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1 percent after a two-day gain of 0.5 percent. The currency is still down 3.1 percent from a Jan. 3 peak.

Commodities

· Oil slid 1.1 percent to $51.58 a barrel in New York, heading for a third-straight drop of more than 1 percent. An industry report was said to show that U.S. crude and gasoline supplies climbed.

· Copper three-month forwards jumped 1.3 percent in London. Workers at the world’s biggest copper mine vowed to start an indefinite strike Thursday as talks with BHP Billiton Ltd. failed to produce an agreement following weeks of collective bargaining in Chile.

Bonds

· Australian 10-year bonds yields dropped one basis point to 2.69 percent, while those in New Zealand declined five basis points to 3.25 percent.

· Yields on 10-year Treasuries slid one basis point to 2.39 percent, after falling below 2.40 percent for the first time in two weeks on Tuesday.

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