BLBG: Stocks Climb as Dollar Declines on Economy; Oil, Copper Gain
Sept. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Stocks rose for the first time in three days after faster economic growth forecasts from the Asian Development Bank provided further evidence the global recovery is accelerating. The dollar fell, while oil and copper advanced.
The MSCI World Index of 23 developed nations added 0.8 percent at 1:29 p.m. in London, while futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 0.6 percent. Russia’s Micex Index climbed 3.1 percent after UBS AG and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said higher earnings will boost equities. The dollar snapped two days of gains versus the euro. Oil rose for the first time in four days and copper increased for a second day.
The ADB said Asia, excluding Japan, will grow 3.9 percent this year, better than its March estimate of 3.4 percent, as China, India and Indonesia expand. Government data showed net crude oil imports by China last month were the second-highest on record. Federal Reserve policy makers and leaders from the Group of 20 nations meet this week as governments grapple with scaling back economic stimulus measures as the rebound gathers momentum.
“The resilience of the equity markets and hence the lack of support for the dollar is in part down to the steady stream of good news that underlines the positive growth outlook,” Derek Halpenny, European head of global currency research at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. in London, wrote in a report.
Computer Chips
Basic-resource and oil producers led gains in the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index of European shares, which added 1 percent. A 55 percent increase since March 9 has driven valuations on the gauge to 47.4 times reported profit, the highest level since June 2003, weekly Bloomberg data show.
Rio Tinto Group, the world’s third-largest mining company, added 3.5 percent in London. BP Plc, Europe’s second-biggest oil company, climbed 1.6 percent.
STMicroelectronics NV, Europe’s largest semiconductor maker, gained 3.2 percent. The price of benchmark computer- memory chips climbed 1.1 percent yesterday to the highest level since Aug. 27, 2008, according to Dramexchange Technology Inc.
HeidelbergCement AG added 7.7 percent in Frankfurt. The German cement maker owned by billionaire Ludwig Merckle raised 2.25 billion euros ($3.3 billion) selling new shares to cut debt, the largest such transaction in Germany in half a decade.
The rise in U.S. futures indicated the S&P 500 may advance after its biggest decline in almost three weeks. The 57 percent rebound in the index from its 12-year low on March 9 has pushed valuations to almost 20 times the reported earnings from continuing operations of its companies, the highest level since 2004, according to weekly data compiled by Bloomberg.
‘Cheap’ Russian Stocks
Russia’s Micex climbed the most in two weeks. Profits may exceed analysts’ estimates by about 30 percent as companies cut costs and revenues rebound, UBS economist Clemens Grafe wrote in a note today. Investors should increase holdings of Russian shares because “cheap” valuations will help spur a rally of 25 percent, Goldman Sachs analyst Sergei Arsenyev wrote.
“We’re now in this attractive phase of the cycle and a strong earnings recovery is on the way,” said Jonathan Garner, the London-based chief Asian and emerging-market strategist at Morgan Stanley. “Stock markets will continue to rise.”
The ruble rose 0.8 percent to its strongest level against the dollar this year, while South Africa’s rand strengthened 0.5 percent for the first gain in four days. South Africa’s Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni will probably leave the repurchase rate at 7 percent at today’s meeting, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
Dollar, Copper
The Dollar Index, which IntercontinentalExchange Inc. uses to track the greenback against the yen, euro, pound, Canadian dollar, Swedish krona and Swiss franc, snapped a two-day advance, falling as much as 1 percent. The U.S. currency declined most against high-yielding currencies, losing 2 percent versus the New Zealand dollar and 1.2 percent compared with the Australian dollar.
Industrial metals rallied on the London Metal Exchange, paced by gains in lead and zinc. Three-month copper rose for a second day, advancing 2.3 percent to $6,335 a metric ton. Gold rose 1.3 percent to $1,016.57 an ounce in London trading. Crude oil for October delivery, which expires today, added 2 percent to $71.12 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Net crude oil imports by China, Asia’s largest consumer, rose 18 percent in August to 17.92 million metric tons, the second highest on record, official data from the Beijing-based Customs General Administration showed.
Two-year Treasuries were little changed as the U.S. prepares to sell $43 billion of the securities, the first of three auctions this week in which the government will offer $112 billion of debt, a record for that combination of securities.
Fed on Hold
The U.S. government and the Fed have spent, lent or committed more than $12 trillion in a bid to revive the economy and credit markets. The Fed will keep its target rate for overnight bank loans at a record low of between zero and 0.25 percent following its two-day policy meeting starting today, according to all 93 economists a Bloomberg survey.
The global economy has yet to feel the full benefit of government-led spending programs to stimulate demand, according to U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
“The stimulus that we have still got to give the world economy is greater than the stimulus we have already had,” Brown told reporters in London before his departure today for the Group of 20 meeting in Pittsburgh. “What we want to do is safeguard a recovery from a recession we feared would develop into a depression.”
To contact the reporters on this story: Daniel Hauck in London at dhauck1@bloomberg.net.
