Upbeat China PMI lifts Asia shares and commodities, euro wobbly

Tuesday, 3 June 2014 00:55 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Encouraging China factory data and another closing record on Wall Street lifted Asian equities and commodities on Monday, while the euro held recent gains against the dollar but remained on shaky ground ahead of a closely watched European Central Bank meeting. The upward momentum was seen spilling over into European equities, with financial spreadbetters forecasting Britain’s FTSE to open up as much 0.32%, Germany’s DAX 0.26% higher and France’s CAC to open flat. Tokyo’s Nikkei led by way, rising 2.1%, while Australian shares added 0.3%.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was little changed. Greater China markets were closed on Monday for a holiday. “Risk appetite has risen mainly on bright economic data from China, but the direction for the month will likely depend on other economic data like U.S. jobs figures this week,” said Hikaru Sato, a senior technical analyst at Daiwa Securities in Tokyo. China’s factory activity expanded at the fastest pace in five months in May due to rising new orders, official data showed on Sunday, reinforcing views that the world’s second-largest economy is regaining momentum. After weeks of speculation the ECB is expected to deliver economic stimulus on Thursday via monetary easing. The euro fell to a 3-1/2 month low last week ahead of the expected move, although risk assets like equities should get a boost. The euro traded little changed at $1.3629 after bouncing back late last week from $1.3587, its lowest since 13 February. The dollar edged up 0.2% to 102.03 yen after rebounding against the Japanese currency Friday thanks in part to slightly higher US Treasury yields. On Friday, the Dow and S&P 500 rode the momentum of the recent risk asset rally to set record closing highs. However, Wall Street gains were modest in the wake of a mixed bag of US data and investors will be looking to Friday’s non-farm payrolls for confirmation that recovery for the world’s largest economy is on track. The US job data’s impact on the Treasury market will also be eyed following a debt market rally in May that took benchmark yields to 11-month lows and pressured the dollar.