Stocks and Commodities Rising |
Today, immediately after American and European stocks jumped up in response to a promise from the German and French leaders to resolve the debt crisis in Europe, Asian stock indexes also rose, pushing the regional MSCI Asia Pacific Index to a high for the fourth day in a row.
Shares of Rio Tinto Group, the second-largest mining company in the world by sales volume, rose 1.6% in Sydney, while shares of Korea Zinc rose 6.5% in trading in Seoul. Mitsubishi Corp, which receives almost half of its income (43%) from trading in commodities, saw its shares rise 2.9% in Tokyo at the same time that shares of Sony Corp, Japan’s largest exporter of consumer electronics, shot up 5.2%. The Japanese markets are resuming their trading today after being closed for a holiday on Monday.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 1.1% to reach 114.94 by 9:25AM in Tokyo, thanks to growth in exporters’ shares and shares of mining companies after prices on goods and commodities rose. DT Trading analysts note that for each stock falling in the index, there are at least four stocks rising.
The drop in the MSCI Asia Pacific Index so far this year prior to October 10 was a fairly big one – 17%, compared to the S&P 500’s 5% loss and the Stoxx Europe 600 Index’s 14% slip. As a result of yesterday’s trading day, the capitalization of companies included in the Asia-Pacific region index was valued at, on average, 11.6 times the estimated earnings of these companies, compared with a 12-fold increase for the S&P 500 and a 10-fold increase for the Stoxx 600.
The Australian S&P 500/ASX 200 Index rose 0.4% today in trading in Sydney, while the South Korean Kospi Index rose 2.2% and the Japanese Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 2%.
Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 0.1% in trading in Asia today. The index rose 3.4% in trading in New York yesterday, which was its largest one-day rise since August. Furthermore, DT Trading experts observed that all 10 industry groups rose. Last week, the S&P 500 rebounded from the threshold of a bear market amid optimism that Europe is getting its debt crisis under control and also after positive US economic data. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index showed its highest four-day growth since 2008.
Copper futures for December delivery rose 2.9% yesterday on the New York Commodity Exchange, while gold futures rose 2.1%. Meanwhile, crude oil futures for November delivery went up 2.9%. The London Metal Exchange index of prices for six industrial metals, including copper and aluminum, added 1.7% for its third day in a row of gains.
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