Asian markets up on recovery hopes, yen sinks after BoJ decision

HONG KONG - Asian markets rose Wednesday to maintain their strong start to the year, with Tokyo soaring and the yen tumbling after the Bank of Japan decided against further tweaking monetary policy.

Weak earnings from banking titan Goldman Sachs, a jobs warning by Microsoft, and a plunge in manufacturing data highlighted the bumpy road ahead for the United States, the world's top economy, even as optimism over inflation and the interest rate outlook improved.

Still, hopes for China's recovery continued to provide much-needed support, with Vice Premier Liu He telling the Davos forum that growth will likely rebound this year as the country reopens from zero-Covid while adding that Covid infections had peaked.

His comments came after data showed the economy expanded last year at its slowest pace since 1976 -- excluding pandemic-hit 2020 -- but beat forecasts.

The news added to hopes for a global recovery after last year's pain caused by rising prices, rate hikes, China's economic woes, a spike in energy costs and the war in Ukraine.

"Last fall, there was broad consensus that China was in the wrong place, Europe was slipping into a recession, and the Fed was ultimately caught 'wrong-footed' by very sticky inflation," said SPI Asset Management's Stephen Innes.

"But fast-forward to these early weeks of January, and China's reopening has put the country on a path to much better growth, investors are far more optimistic about Europe's recovery, and the bane of all ills US inflation is even starting to recede."

Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Wellington, Manila, Bangkok, Mumbai and Jakarta were all on the rise, though Seoul dipped.

Tokyo was the standout, however, piling on more than two percent after the Bank of Japan left its key policy rate unchanged.

But the yen tumbled from around 128.50 per dollar to more than 131 Wednesday after the move. It also tumbled against the euro and sterling.

Traders had been keenly anticipating the decision, which came after the BoJ last month shocked markets by announcing a tweak that allowed its tightly controlled bond yields to move in a wider bracket.

Clifford Bennett, chief economist at ACY Securities, said the decision indicated the BoJ was "acting appropriately in what is still an uncertain economic growth path, and still low inflation levels".

While other central banks have hiked rates, "Japan has long been a different story and remains so", he added in a note.

The move in December sent the yen soaring, and while the bank held firm Wednesday, there is a growing expectation that officials will eventually move away from the policy of buying up bonds to keep yields in check.

"Speculation will remain that it will eventually review its policy," said Takahide Kiuchi, executive economist at Nomura Research Institute and a former BoJ policy board member.

"Market focus will now shift to the appointment of a new governor," he told AFP, noting that the bank needs to "make its policy flexible" whoever is appointed.

However, other observers said if the BoJ continued to stick to its position, the Japanese unit could fall back to around 135 per dollar.

The strategy has been in place for years as the BoJ has attempted to boost the stuttering economy by keeping borrowing costs low, but with other central banks hiking rates, the yen came under immense pressure and hit a three-decade low of around 152 per dollar in October.

Key figures around 0520 GMT 

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 2.5 percent at 26,790.52

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.2 percent at 21,616.17

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 3,228.60

Dollar/yen: UP at 131.40 yen from 128.13 yen on Tuesday

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0772 from $1.0794 

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2283 from $1.2285

Euro/pound: DOWN at 87.70 pence from 87.85 pence

West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.9 percent at $80.89 a barrel

Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.8 percent at $86.58 a barrel

New York - Dow: DOWN 1.1 percent at 33,910.85 (close)

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 7,851.03 (close)

Agence France-Presse

Stocks dip, oil slides and havens shine as growth nerves nag

SYDNEY, Australia - Stock markets slipped on Thursday and safe havens such as government bonds, gold and the yen were supported in Asia, as a hint of uneasiness crept in over the outlook for interest rates and growth, particularly outside of the United States.

Oil prices skidded to a six-week low on concern about a supply overhang and the prospect of China, Japan and the United States dipping into their fuel reserves, with Brent futures last at $79.77, more than 8 percent off last month's three-year high.

The risk-sensitive Australian dollar also fell to a six-week trough of $0.7256.

Japan's Nikkei was down 0.6 percent in early trade. MSCI's broadest index of Asian shares outside Japan dropped 0.5 percent and S&P 500 futures were flat after the index eased a little bit overnight.

The mood was softest in Hong Kong where concern over the earnings outlook weighed on tech stocks and an almost 5 percent drop in heavyweight Alibaba dragged the Hang Seng about 1 percent lower.

"We do seem to have stalled somewhat as we head into the year end," said Jun Bei Liu, a portfolio manager at Tribeca Investment Partners in Sydney.

"Investors perhaps are just taking a bit of pause," she said, in the wake of a strong US results season, but as inflation and China's slowdown loom as macroeconomic headwinds.

The yen, a safe-haven asset which has also lately been sensitive to oil prices, had its sharpest one-day jump against the dollar in three months on Wednesday while gold rose almost 1 percent and Treasuries rallied along the curve.

Gold rose a further 0.1 percent to $1,869 an ounce in Asia on Thursday. The yen edged up to 113.94 per dollar.

Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields were steady in Tokyo at 1.5889 percent after falling about 5.5 basis points overnight.

The day ahead is quiet on the calendar, with appearances from central bankers in Australia, the United States and Europe and US jobless claims data the highlights.

BIG DOLLAR

Against the backdrop of apparent caution is a surging US dollar, as US data has turned surprisingly strong just as doubts have arisen over the outlook for other major economies.

On Wednesday figures showed a jump in building permits and the backlog of house construction rose to a 15-year high - underscoring strong demand on the heels of a better-than-expected retail sales report on Tuesday.

By contrast Europe is grappling with a fourth wave of COVID-19 cases and fresh restrictions to curb it, while the central bank is pushing back on pressure to raise rates.

The euro has recovered from a trip below $1.13 on Wednesday but remains shaky at $1.1325 and is braced for its worst month on the dollar since June when the Federal Reserve had surprised investors with a hawkish shift in tone.

Currency traders are also assessing a sharp downdraft in the Aussie/yen cross, often a barometer of market sentiment. It fell through its 200-day moving average on Tuesday and has lost almost 4 percent in a dozen sessions.

"You've got the perfect storm there for bears," said Matt Simpson, senior analyst at brokerage City Index. "Fundamentally and technically Aussie/yen looks pretty good with lower oil prices."

(Reporting by Tom Westbrook in Sydney Editing by Shri Navaratnam)

-reuters-

Yen, euro gain on dollar as Fed rate cut talks heat up

TOKYO -- The yen and the euro rose against the dollar on Monday on growing expectations that the US Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at its policy review this month to protect the economy from the rapid spread of the coronavirus.

As US shares were routed in recent days, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Friday the central bank will "act as appropriate" to support the economy in the face of risks posed by the coronavirus epidemic.

Investors took his comments as a hint that the Fed will cut interest rates by at least 0.25 percentage point at its next scheduled meeting on March 17-18.

There is even increasing chatter of an unscheduled move, with a US bank lobby economist saying a coordinated global interest rate cut by the top central banks could happen as early as on Wednesday.

The expectations around the Fed underscored the speed and scale of the virus' spread from China through to dozens of countries and the potentially crippling blow to the global economy.

Investors expect the dollar's yield advantage - a key support for the US currency - to shrink as the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan are seen having limited room for further cuts given their rates are already in negative territory.

The yen rose to as high as 107 to the dollar in early Monday trade and last stood at 107.75 yen, up 0.3 percent from its levels in New York late on Friday.

The Japanese currency had risen 3.2 percent last week, the biggest gain since July 2016. Japan's current account surplus and the yen's vast liquidity make the yen behave like safe haven asset.

The euro stood at $1.1042, up 0.14 percent so far in Asia, trading near its highest level in almost a month after a 1.7 percent gain last week, the largest in two years.

The common currency's rise stemmed from unwinding of so-called euro carry trade, in which speculators borrow the euro to invest in higher-yielding currencies, market players said.

The safe haven Swiss franc also hit 1-1/2-year high of 0.9610 franc per US dollar on Friday and last stood at 0.9642.

Underscoring investors' concerns, China's official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to a record low of 35.7 in February from 50.0 in January, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Saturday, showing factory activity contracted at the fastest pace ever.

"The data showed the severity of the damage from the coronavirus. If upcoming data undershoots market expectations, that will weigh on sentiment further," said Kyosuke Suzuki, director of currency trading at Societe Generale.

The offshore yuan slipped only slightly to 6.9840 yuan per dollar, down about 0.17 percent in early Asian trade, off Friday's high of 6.9777, its highest since Feb. 17.

But the Australian dollar, often used as a liquid proxy on China, lost 0.34 percent to $0.6485, down 0.34 percent having hit a 11-year low of $0.64345 on Friday.

The New Zealand dollar was also on the defensive after sliding to a decade low of $0.6180 last week. It last traded at $0.6218, down 0.46 percent.

Selling spread to some emerging market currencies.

The Mexican peso and the South African rand both lost more than 1 percent in early Monday trade.

The Turkish lira, which has been weighed by the country's intensifying involvement in fighting in Syria, slipped a tad to record lows.

Among developed market currencies, the pound is seen more vulnerable than its peers at time of major economic crisis as UK's sizable current account deficit meant the country depends on foreign capital.

Investors are also fretting about Britain's negotiations with the European Union over a trade deal and whether a UK budget next month will include much more spending, which many investors say is necessary to boost economic growth.

Sterling traded at $1.2799, down 0.15 percent so far on the day, not far from its 4-1/2-month low of $1.2726 hit on Friday.

The pound stood near its lowest levels since October against the euro and the yen.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

World stocks stall as US-China tensions flare again

LONDON -- A 4-day rally that had lifted world stocks to near-record highs stalled on Thursday after China said it would retaliate for US legislation backing Hong Kong's protesters, leaving investors concerned as to the extent of the Chinese response.

Fading hopes of a rapprochement between the world's two biggest economies before additional, potentially damaging tariff hikes kick in has lowered risk appetite, pushing the benchmark German 10-year government yield to its lowest since Nov. 1.

The yen - perceived as a safe-haven currency - ticked up from 6-month lows against the US dollar.

A pan-European stocks index retreated from four-year peaks hit earlier in the week, ending 0.1 percent lower, led by the trade-sensitive auto sector, down 0.8 percent for its worst day in more than a week.

The US legislation, which threatens sanctions for human rights violations and seeks to safeguard Hong Kong's autonomy, prompted China to warn of "firm counter measures".

But fears as to the extent of Chinese retaliation eased during London trading.

"The market is reacting in a cautiously positive way to the fact that we don't have any details of (China's) retaliation," said Ken Odeluga, market analyst at City Index in London.

"I think we'll know more in the coming days and the market is keeping its powder dry for that."

Meanwhile, China's state council said that it would step up punishment for intellectual property violations - a key sticking point in the US-China conflict - and that it would lower non-tariff trade barriers.

Wall Street's main indexes closed at record levels for a third straight day on Wednesday, albeit in thin liquidity before the Thanksgiving holiday, after data showed U.S. economic growth had picked up in the third quarter and consumer spending had increased.

Elsewhere, though, the outlook for growth looks less rosy. Japanese retail figures slumped the most since 2015 as a sales tax hike dragged on the economy, exacerbating a slowdown caused by slowing exports and manufacturing.

That took Asian shares excluding Japan down 0.2 percent. Japan's Nikkei, Hong Kong's Hang Seng and Shanghai blue chips all closed weaker.

MSCI's world equity was index flat, after it approached the record reached in January 2018. However, the index is up almost 3 percent so far in November and is on track for the best month since June as investors flit in and out depending on trade war headlines.

"People don't want to be caught on the wrong side," said Geoff Yu, head of the UK investment office at UBS Wealth Management. "It does reflect there's cash on the sidelines. If you can stretch the positive narrative, if the trade issue is out of the way for the time being, we might actually see a demand pick up."

US markets are closed for Thanksgiving, but equity futures for all three major indexes were down around 0.1 percent, having clawed back some earlier losses .

EUROPE AND BRITAIN

Markets' mood improved also after data showed euro zone economic sentiment rebounded more than expected in November. Sentiment in industry, among consumers, and in industry all improved but remain below zero. The euro was little changed by the news.

Data released on Thursday also showed that bank lending to euro zone companies rebounded in October.

The British pound slipped however, after rising on Wednesday when a model for pollsters YouGov, which accurately predicted the 2017 election, said Prime Minister Boris Johnson was on course to win a majority in parliament at the Dec. 12 election.

The pound eased 0.1 percent to $1.2909 and against the euro it weakened 0.25 percent, retreating from a near 7-month high at 85 pence.

Implementing Brexit by the end of January, as Johnson promises, would leave him a "miniscule" 11 months to agree a trade deal with the European Union, analysts at Societe Generale told clients.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies - a British think tank - said that neither of the UK's major parties have credible plans to manage Britain's public finances.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

In high-tech Japan, cash is still king

TOKYO - Once a pioneer in cashless transactions, Japan is now lagging behind as the world's biggest economies increasingly embrace electronic payments -- because its ageing population still prefers physical money.

Four out of 5 purchases are still made with cash in Japan, despite its reputation as a futuristic and innovative nation. In South Korea, some 90 percent of transactions are digital, while Sweden aims to be a cashless society as early as 2023.

But in Japan, where crime and counterfeiting is virtually non-existent so people feel more comfortable carrying cash, consumer response has been sluggish.

At Katsuyuki Hasegawa's bike repair shop customers are invited to settle their bills using PayPay -- a tie-up between Softbank and Yahoo -- using a QR code via their smartphones.

But only "two or three" people a week are using the service, Hasegawa tells AFP.

"In a place like this, everything is very slow. We get lots of old people who like to chat while getting out their money. They don't need quick transactions," says the 40-year-old shopkeeper.

"Personally, I prefer cash. With PayPay, you don't keep track of your money," he adds. 

With Japan becoming the first "super-aged" society with more than 28 percent of people 65 or over, it is harder to persuade consumers to take up new technology, according to Yuki Fukumoto, an analyst at the NLI Research Institute.

"The challenge from now on is how to motivate people" to change their habits, said Fukumoto.

This is a serious challenge in a country with more than 200,000 ATMs and where most small shops will only take cash to avoid high transaction costs.

Many were also put off when retail giant Seven & I Holdings suffered a hacking attack immediately after launching a new QR-code payment system and was forced to scrap the scheme.

 'Outdated and collectable'

Yet it was way back in the 1990s that Japanese firm Denso Wave developed the first QR codes now frequently used in cashless payments, while Sony has offered a chip used on public transport and for payments since the 2000s.

Payment cards for transport systems in Tokyo and other cities are also often used for small purchases from vending machines or convenience stores, but cash remains preferred for other transactions.

The Japanese government is hoping to seize on a wave of tourists expected to flood in for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to double the amount of electronic payments to 40 percent by 2025.

It also plans to introduce a points system to partially reward customers paying by cashless means as a way to mitigate a controversial hike in consumption tax from 8 percent to 10 percent from October.

Tokyo perhaps has an eye on the costs of such a dependence on cash, estimated by a Boston Consulting Group survey at 2 trillion yen ($18 billion) to maintain ATMs and transport money around securely.

Companies, too, are doing their best to promote a cashless society. Earlier in the year, mobile company Rakuten started "100-percent cashless" stadia for its baseball and football teams.

Akiko Yamanaka, who runs a chic restaurant called "Koguma" ("bear"), said a 10-percent discount introduced by PayPay for diners who settle the bill using their system had attracted several people.

"The more campaigns there are like this, the more people will convert to cashless," said the 54-year-old.

And Rakuten boss Hiroshi Mikitani is convinced that the future is cashless, even in Japan.

"One day soon, money as we know it -- notes and coins that we carry with us -- will be as outdated and collectable as vinyl discs are now," he said in a recent blog.

Nevertheless, he admitted that "security has to be improved" for this to happen, especially in the wake of the QR hack.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Yen soars, Aussie tumbles as fresh growth worries trigger FX 'flash crash'

SINGAPORE -- The yen surged on Thursday through key technical levels as heightened worries about the global economy pushed investors to safe haven-assets in moves exacerbated by thin holiday volumes.

Charging the risk averse mood was Apple Inc's move on Wednesday to cut its sales forecast for its latest quarter, on slowing iPhone sales in China. That followed a series of surveys that showed factory activity weakening across much of Europe and Asia in December.

Market participants fled to the safety of the highly liquid Japanese yen which rose 1 percent versus the dollar on Thursday. In early Asian trade, the dollar tumbled to an intra-day low of 104.96 yen, its lowest since March 2018.

The spike in risk aversion triggered massive stop-loss flows from investors who had held short positions on the yen for months. A lack of liquidity, with Japan still on holiday after the New Year, added to the sharp surge.

Market participants described the move as a "flash crash" in major currencies against the yen, driven primarily by technical, not fundamental, factors.

Longer-term, however, analysts see other reasons for the yen to rise.

"The yen is undervalued and can strengthen both if the dollar weakens across the board, but also if our broadly positive view that the global economy will stabilize at potential growth this year proves to be wrong, the Fed pauses and/or we get a risk-off market correction-as we saw at the end of 2018," said Athanasios Vamvakidis, FX strategist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

The Australian dollar, often considered a gauge of global risk appetite, fell to its lowest level since 2009 in early Asian trade to an intra-day low of $0.6776. The Aussie dollar last traded at $0.6931, down 0.74 percent. Weaker-than-expected data out of China, Australia's largest trade partner has taken the shine off the Aussie dollar in recent weeks.

Against the yen, the Aussie dollar fell 1.8 percent to 74.67.

China's economy remains of major concern for markets after a measure of its manufacturing activity shrank for the first time in 19 months in December, hit by the Chinese-US trade war, with the weakness spilling over to other Asian economies.

The dollar index was at 96.77, relatively unchanged from its previous close.

However, analysts expect the dollar to come under pressure in coming months with diminishing prospects for US central bank rate hikes in 2019, which has driven Treasury yields lower.

The yield on US 10-year treasuries fell to 2.63 percent, the lowest in nearly a year on Wednesday.

Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell speaks in Atlanta on Jan. 4. Any acknowledgement that growth risks are building and financial conditions tightening is likely to be read by traders as a dovish policy signal.

Elsewhere, sterling fell 0.7 percent to $1.2516 on Thursday.

The euro was down marginally at $1.1340. On Wednesday, the single currency fell 1 percent after data showed manufacturing activity contracted in Spain, France, Italy, and Germany.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Dollar sags against yen as Syria concerns sap risk appetite

TOKYO - The dollar struggled against the yen on Thursday as investors sought shelter in the safe-haven Japanese currency on concerns over the possibility of Western military action against Syria.

The geopolitical tensions shifted some focus away from the US-China trade standoff, with the dollar last trading little changed at 106.810 yen after losing 0.4 percent overnight. The yen often draws demand in times of market turmoil and political tensions.

The dollar had risen to 107.400 yen on Tuesday after comments from Chinese President Xi Jinping calmed fears over a US-China trade war, which had gripped global financial markets over the past few weeks.

The respite for the greenback was short lived, however, as focus shifted to the possibility of wider military conflict in the Middle East.

Tensions increased after US President Donald Trump warned Russia on Wednesday of imminent military action in Syria over a suspected poison gas attack, declaring that missiles "will be coming" and lambasting Moscow for standing by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

"The yen has gained against the dollar on geopolitical concerns. The dollar has weakened against other currencies as well, but other factors are more at play, such as higher commodity prices and ECB monetary policy expectations," said Masafumi Yamamoto, chief forex strategist at Mizuho Securities in Tokyo.

"As for the Syrian tensions, divisions are seemingly being drawn along Cold War era lines with the United States, Britain and France on one side and Russia on the other, suggesting any standoff could be prolonged," Yamamoto said.

The euro was up 0.05 percent at $1.2375 and on its fifth session of gains, supported this week as comments from European Central Bank officials reinforced views that the central bank is on track to normalize monetary policy.

Commodity-linked currencies were also buoyant against the dollar with crude oil prices at their highest since late 2014 due to the Syria tensions. The Canadian dollar reached a seven-week high of C$1.2545 per dollar overnight and last traded at C$1.2570.

The Australian dollar was steady at $0.7760 after touching $0.7773, the highest since Mar. 22.

The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies was down 0.1 percent at 89.457 after dipping overnight to a two-week trough of 89.355.

With attention on Syria the dollar did not receive much support from hawkish-sounding Federal Reserve meeting minutes.

All of the Fed's policymakers felt that the US economy would firm further and that inflation would rise in the coming months, minutes of the central bank's last policy meeting on March 20-21 released on Wednesday showed.

The Hong Kong dollar fell to a new 33-year low of 7.8500 per dollar early on Thursday morning, hitting the lower end of the monetary authority's targeted trading band, as the interest rate gap between US dollar and Hong Kong dollar widened further. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Dollar hits 16-month lows vs yen as trade, political woes take their toll

TOKYO - The dollar slipped to a 16-month low against the Japanese yen on Monday, pressured by lingering fears of a global trade war and caution towards political developments in Tokyo.

The US currency traded at 104.835 yen after falling to 104.560, its weakest since November 2016.

The dollar had already slumped 1.2 percent versus its Japanese peer last week as escalating trade tensions between the United States and China stoked concerns about global growth.

Global markets were shaken after US President Donald Trump moved to impose tariffs on Chinese goods, edging the world's 2 largest economies closer to a trade war.

Views that Japan's political scandal could deepen was also seen lifting the yen, with a key figure in a cronyism scandal gripping Prime Minister Shinzo Abe due to testify in parliament on Tuesday..

Economic measures dubbed "Abenomics" initiated by Abe has been a factor that has pulled the yen down over the past few years to the benefit of exporters. Any event that leads to a decline in the premier's support ratings is seen weakening his ability to keep Abenomics in place.

"With worries about the United States and China locking horns on trade issues and Japan's parliamentary testimony coming up on Tuesday, few participants are willing to buy the dollar," said Yukio Ishizuki, senior currency strategist at Daiwa Securities.

"It really is typical 'risk off' trades dominating right now, with the yen and Swiss franc the big beneficiaries. But more speculators are jumping in, and any reversals could be sudden and violent."

The Swiss franc was little changed at 0.9467 franc per dollar after gaining 0.55 percent against the greenback last week.

The euro edged higher at $1.2364 after rising 0.5 percent last week.

The dollar index against a basket of 6 major currencies was steady at 89.453 and in close reach of a one-month low of 89.356 set last week.

The Australian dollar added 0.3 percent to $0.7714 and the New Zealand dollar gained 0.35 percent to $0.7250.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

U.S. dollar heads for worst year since 2003

NEW YORK - The dollar fell to its lowest in over three months against a basket of major currencies on Friday, on track for its biggest annual drop since 2003, on doubts over durability of a pickup in U.S. economic growth in wake of last week's tax overhaul.

One of the most dramatic market developments in 2017 was the breath-taking rise of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. While they have pulled back at year-end, many of these digital currencies have surged in value this year.

The greenback may lag further against its peers in 2018 as investors expected other major central banks to reduce their stimulus while the Federal Reserve has signaled it would raise interest rates further, analysts said.

"The dollar will face more headwinds in 2018," said Chris Gaffney, president of Everbank in St. Louis, Missouri. "The Fed won't be going at it alone in terms of taking off more gas from the stimulus pedal."

Bets the European Central Bank might consider raising interest rates by the end of 2018 due to evidence of higher inflation and business activity in the euro have lifted the euro, which was poised for its best yearly performance versus the greenback in 14 years.

The euro hit a three-month peak at $1.2013, bringing its annual gain to 14.1 percent. It was last up 0.68 percent at $1.2022.

Euro's rally was a drag on the greenback in 2017. The index that tracks the dollar versus the euro and five other major currencies fell as low as 92.169, which the lowest since Sept. 22. It was on track for its steepest annual decline since 2003.

The dollar also weakened against the yen, sterling, Canadian dollar, Swedish krona and Swiss franc, which are the other index components this year.

The dollar index at a 14-year peak at the start of 2017 on hopes for U.S. President Donald Trump's pro-growth economic agenda. Barring the most dramatic rewrite of the U.S. tax code in 20 years enacted last week, Trump and Republican lawmakers have struggled to pass legislation.

Furthermore, many institutional investors close their books at the year-end, a deadline for taxation and performance reporting, a time seen leading to dollar selling pressure, analysts said.

Outside of traditional currencies, bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies rebounded after two days of losses tied partly to more regulators toughening rules on digital currencies in a bid to curb excessive speculation.

Bitcoin was last up 1.13 percent at $14,599.99 on the Bitstamp exchange. It was off the record highs near $20,000 touched 12 days ago but still headed for a gain of roughly 1,400 percent in 2017.

Financial markets around the world will be closed on Monday on New Year's Day.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Yen at 3-month low on Abe win, euro struggles with Spain

SYDNEY - Japan's yen hit 3-month lows on Monday as an election win for the government gave a green light for super-easy monetary policy, while the euro eased as Spain's constitutional crisis aggravated concerns about political unity in the bloc.

The US dollar was the major beneficiary as President Donald Trump and Republicans took a small step toward tax cuts, boosting Wall Street stocks and lifting bond yields.

Nikkei futures also pointed to opening gains of around 1 percent for Japanese shares after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe looked to have easily won in national elections.

Investors assumed the victory would allow the Bank of Japan to continue with massive monetary easing that depresses bond yields and the yen, even as the US Federal Reserve seems determined to hike rates again in December.

"This should extend the lifespan of “Abenomics,” including the BOJ's mega stimulus," wrote analysts at the Blackrock Investment Institute.

"We see the outcome as a mild positive for Japanese equities, and as a mild negative for the yen and Japanese government bonds."

The dollar rose 0.38 percent in early trade to reach 113.93 yen, the highest since mid-July when it got as far as 114.49 before running out of puff. A break there would open the way to the March peaks around 115.51.

The yen even slipped on the euro, which was having its own troubles as the Spanish government urged Catalans to accept its decision to dismiss their secessionist leadership and to take control of the restive region.

The nation's biggest political crisis in decades enters a decisive week as Madrid tries to impose its control, although investors have so far assumed the political strife would not spread elsewhere in the European Union.

The euro eased just 0.1 percent early Monday to $1.1771 and has strong chart support around $1.1729.

It faces another hurdle on Thursday when the European Central Bank meets amid much talk it will cut back the amount of assets it buys every month, but also extend the programme.

"As we have argued for some time now, the length of time the QE programme runs for matters more than monthly size," said analysts at RBC Capital Markets.

"So while we look for a reduction by at least 30 billion euros in net terms ... we also expect that the ECB will keep the program open ended."

Asian share markets could get a tailwind from Wall Street's record finish on Friday when the passage of a US Senate budget resolution bolstered hopes that President Trump's tax-cut plan may move forward.

The Dow ended with gains of 0.71 percent, while the S&P 500 rose 0.51 percent and the Nasdaq 0.36 percent.

In commodity markets, oil prices started firmer on Monday following a sharp decline in Iraqi crude exports due to tensions in the Kurdistan region.

Brent crude rose 25 cents to $58.00 a barrel, while US crude futures added 32 cents to $52.16.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Honest taxi driver returns bag with P900,000

DAVAO CITY - A taxi driver in Davao City on Thursday returned a bag containing 2 million yen or around P900,000.

Reymond Gonzaga discovered that a passenger left the bag at the backseat of his of taxi on Thursday morning.


"Nabantayan nako ang bag dihang mamahaw ko busa midiretso nalang ko sa ABS-CBN aron magpatabang nga mauli ang bag," he saud.

(I was about to take my breakfast when I saw the bag at the back seat. I went here to ask help from ABS-CBN on what to do with the bag.)

The bag also contained jewelry, a cellphone, and other important documents such as a passport and bank book.

ABS-CBN News obtained information that the owner of the bag is Ruth Muntag Koitabashi, an overseas Filipino worker in Japan.

Koitabashi immediately went to the ABS-CBN Davao station to claim her bag.

According to Ruth, she forgot her bag because she was in a hurry to meet her friend.

"Nakalimot ko sa ako bag nagdali dali lagi, dako kong pasalamat sa iyaha," she said.

(I'm very thankful to Reymond because he returned my bag)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Asian shares wobble, dollar on track for losing week

TOKYO - Asian shares dipped on Friday but remained on track for weekly gains while the dollar was poised for a losing week, as investors weighed whether President-elect Donald Trump would stress growth-boosting steps when he takes office.

On Wall Street, major indexes finished lower a day after Trump failed to elaborate on his economic stimulus plans in his first news conference since his Nov. 8 election victory.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.2 percent, after rising to its highest levels since late October in the previous session. It was up 1.8 percent for the week.

Japan's Nikkei stock index rose 0.4 percent, on track to shed 1.2 percent for the week.

Many investors remained hopeful that markets will get a lift from a wave of financial deregulation that could follow Trump's inauguration, including a rollback of some of the Dodd-Frank financial reform that Congress enacted after the financial crisis and bank bailouts.

"Market weakness at the end of the week may continue, but anticipation of a Dodd-Frank repeal possibility spurs an optimistic outlook," said Hiroki Allen, chief representative of Superfund Japan in Tokyo.

But this week's stronger yen also dented demand for Japanese shares. The dollar edged up 0.1 percent to 114.86 yen after skidding as low as 113.75 on Thursday, its lowest since Dec. 8. It was on track to shed 1.8 percent for the week.

The dollar wallowed around five week lows against a currency basket, even as the dollar index edged up 0.2 percent to 101.52. It was down 0.7 percent for the week.

The dollar index scaled 14-year peaks this month, on speculation that Trump's policies would spur growth and inflation, and prompt the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates at a faster pace than previously expected.

The euro was steady at $1.0612, well above last week's 14-year low of $1.0340 and poised to gain 0.7 percent for the week.

Crude oil prices extended gains, bolstered by the weaker dollar as well as news that Saudi Arabia has cut oil output to its lowest in almost two years and plans further reductions.

Brent crude was trading 1.8 percent at $56.11 a barrel, while US crude was up slightly at $53.03.

Spot gold was nearly flat at $1,194.90 an ounce, after it surged to seven-week highs above $1,200.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Dollar inches up vs yen, euro holds to modest gains

TOKYO - The dollar inched up against the yen on Tuesday while the euro held to modest gains against the greenback, as the market looked to emerge out of the holiday lull and into the last trading stretch of the year.

The euro was flat at $1.0453 after adding 0.2 percent overnight.

The dollar was up 0.1 percent at 117.230 yen after spending the previous day stuck in a narrow 117.005 to 117.390 range as many major financial markets were closed for the Christmas holidays.

The yen showed little reaction to Japan's inflation data, which saw core consumer prices mark the ninth straight month of annual declines in November.

The US currency had climbed to a 10-month high of 118.660 yen mid-month on the back of the Trump rally, during which it benefited from expectations of higher interest rates to match the incoming president's stimulatory economic policies.

But gravity has caught up with the dollar, which surged more than 10 percent against the yen since Trump's US election win in November.

Some in the market now expect a deeper downward correction to grip the greenback, with the rise in US debt yields slowing and concerns over Trump's protectionist statements taking some shine off the dollar.

"Trump's policies are understood to be conducive to inflation and a stronger currency. But a higher dollar would be a significant setback to the U.S. economy seemingly in the ending stages of an expansion," wrote Makoto Noji, senior strategist at SMBC Nikko Securities.

"Therefore, the Trump administration and the Federal Reserve would have to stick to a cautious monetary policy stance to prevent the dollar from appreciating excessively. We thus expect a very gradual downtrend for dollar/yen."

The dollar index was little changed at 102.970, having pulled back over the last few days from a 14-year high of 103.650 marked a week ago.

The Australian dollar was down 0.2 percent at $0.7181 , inching back towards a seven-month low of $0.7160 plumbed late last week on concerns over China's economic growth.

The New Zealand dollar was also down 0.2 percent, at $0.6882 , paring the gains made the previous day.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Stocks, dollar edge higher but safe havens get bid after Turkey, Germany attacks

NEW YORK - Stocks edged higher worldwide on Monday as Wall Street extended a rally that has pushed US stocks near all-time highs, while the dollar got a boost from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen who sounded optimistic about the US labor market.

Deadly attacks late in the trading day in Turkey and Germany made stocks pare their gains, while Treasuries prices rose and the safe-haven yen firmed.

US stock indexes hit record highs last week as investors piled on bets that the anticipated fiscal boost from the incoming administration of US President-elect Donald Trump would support riskier assets.

That trend continued Monday with MSCI's gauge of global equities finishing the session modestly higher, buoyed by gains in US stocks, which were led by telecom and tech shares in a low-volume session.

"The Trump rally is still with us," said Jake Dollarhide, chief executive officer of Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa, Oklahoma. "Every time something's down for two days, people jump on it. People are looking for buying opportunities."

Stocks pared their gains after news that a truck had plowed into a crowd in Berlin, killing nine people and injuring at least 50 others.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 39.65 points, or 0.2 percent, to 19,883.06, the S&P 500 gained 4.46 points, or just under 0.2 percent, to 2,262.53 and the Nasdaq Composite added 20.28 points, or 0.37 percent, to 5,457.44.

The Turkish lira and Russian rouble fell to session lows against the greenback on news the Russian ambassador to Turkey was killed in a gun attack at an art gallery in the Turkish capital of Ankara.

The lira was last down about 0.6 percent at 3.525 per dollar while the rouble hit a session low of 62.045 per dollar before retracing to 61.854, according to Reuters data.

The safe-haven Japanese yen added to gains after the reports of the ambassador being shot and the truck attack, rising 0.75 percent against the dollar.

The dollar edged into positive territory after the release of Yellen's remarks to students at the University of Baltimore, eyeing a 14-year high against a basket of currencies touched last week. It was last up 0.2 percent.

US Treasury prices also rose after news of the incidents, with benchmark 10-year notes gaining 16/32 in price to yield 2.538 percent.

Europe's index of 300 leading shares retreated from Friday's 11-month high and fell 0.07 percent. Germany's DAX index rose 0.2 percent while France's CAC slipped 0.22 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 edged up 0.08 percent.

Japan's Nikkei stock index, which has benefited from the yen's sharp fall against the dollar, snapped its nine-day winning streak, edging down from Friday's one-year high.

MSCI's all-country world index that tracks stock markets around the globe rose 0.14 percent.

Oil prices edged lower but held just below $55 per barrel, with little news to influence the market.

Brent futures fell 0.8 percent to $54.77 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.2 percent to $51.79.

source: news.abs-cbn.com