BLBG: Stocks, Commodities Rise on China Economy; Gold Reaches Record
By Michael Patterson
Nov. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Stocks rose, sending the benchmark index for emerging markets to its biggest six-day rally since July, and commodities gained after China’s industrial production and Japan’s machinery orders climbed. Gold advanced to a record.
The MSCI Emerging Markets Index added 1.1 percent at 12:33 p.m. in London, boosting its six-day increase to 7.9 percent. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index were 0.8 percent higher. Gold rallied to as high as $1,117.33 an ounce in London as the Dollar Index dropped to a 15-month low.
China’s industrial production soared 16 percent from a year ago and orders for Japanese machinery surged 10 percent from the previous month, signaling the recovery is accelerating in the world’s second- and third-biggest economies. Earnings from Paris-based bank Credit Agricole SA and Swiss cement-maker Holcim Ltd. beat analysts’ estimates. A record 80 percent of S&P 500 companies have topped third-quarter projections, according to Bloomberg data going back to 1993.
“Money that has been sitting on the sidelines is coming into emerging markets and driving stock markets up,” said Dmitry Gourov, an emerging-markets economist at UniCredit SpA in Vienna. “There is a very robust recovery story.”
The MSCI China Index of Hong Kong-traded shares jumped 1.1 percent to the highest level since June 2008, while South Korea’s Kospi Index added 0.8 percent after the nation’s unemployment rate fell to a nine-month low. China’s Shanghai Composite Index of mainland-traded shares slipped 0.1 percent as a slowdown in lending growth sent developers and banks lower.
Russia, Turkey
Russia’s Micex index increased 0.7 percent and Turkey’s ISE National 100 Index advanced 1.9 percent after ING Groep NV strategists said credit expansion may drive equity gains.
Gold rose as the dollar fell for a third day, spurring demand for the metal. Copper for delivery in three months climbed to $6,640 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange, extending its gain this year to 116 percent. Crude oil added 0.7 percent to $79.59 a barrel in New York. Nickel, zinc and lead also gained.
Raw-material producers led the advance in the MSCI World Index of 23 developed nations, which added 0.5 percent. BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s largest mining company, climbed 4.4 percent in London. Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index increased for the fifth time in six days, rising 1 percent.
Better Earnings
Credit Agricole surged 5.8 percent in Paris after posting third-quarter profit of 289 million euros ($435 million), beating the 128 million-euro median estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. France’s third-largest bank by market value said Chief Executive Officer Georges Pauget will step down.
Holcim, the world’s second-biggest cement maker, added 5.5 percent after saying it will exceed a 600 million Swiss-franc ($595 million) savings target for this year. ING rallied 7.5 percent in Amsterdam. The Dutch financial-services company that plans to sell its insurance business reported a third-quarter profit as improved markets limited writedowns.
The pound weakened 0.9 percent against the euro and U.K. government bonds recovered losses after Bank of England Governor Mervyn King said officials have an “open mind” on whether to keep buying bonds to stimulate economic growth. The yield on the 10-year note was little changed at 3.78 percent, after earlier rising as much as 6 basis points.
The dollar weakened 0.5 percent versus the euro and the Dollar Index dropped 0.2 percent to 74.894, near the lowest level since August 2008.
Federal Reserve officials including San Francisco Fed Bank President Janet Yellen and Dennis Lockhart, who heads the Atlanta Fed, said the U.S. economy will be slow to recover from the recession.
Stock Sentiment
The cost of protecting European corporate bonds from default fell, with credit-default swaps on the high-yield Markit iTraxx Crossover Index dropping 9 basis points to 504.5, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co., signaling an improvement in investor perceptions of credit quality.
Investors are growing more optimistic about U.S. equities for the first time since August as a record number of companies beat profit estimates and worker productivity, manufacturing and home sales exceed forecasts.
Users in Brazil, Germany, Spain and Switzerland also became more bullish, according to the Bloomberg Professional Confidence Survey conducted from Nov. 2 to Nov. 6. The 1,232 responses were collected as the MSCI World index snapped a two-week losing streak and the S&P 500 rebounded from its first monthly drop since February.
To contact the reporter on this story: Michael Patterson in London at mpatterson10@bloomberg.net