S&P 500 Futures Rise as Yen Slips With Bonds, Commodities

by **Cals** Wed 12 Jun 2013, 18:04

S&P 500 Futures Rise as Yen Slips With Bonds, Commodities
By Stephen Kirkland & Glenys Sim - Jun 12, 2013 5:02 PM GMT+0800

futures rose, indicating the gauge will snap a two-day decline, and the yen weakened after the biggest advance against the dollar in three years. Commodities and Treasuries fell.

S&P 500 futures added 0.4 percent at 10 a.m. in London and the Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 0.2 percent after touching a seven-week low. Japan’s currency dropped at least 0.4 percent against all of its 16 major peers. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes rose one basis point to 2.20 percent before an auction today. Australia’s dollar gained against its U.S. counterpart for the first time in four days. Nickel slumped to the lowest since July 2009 and oil declined for a third day.

Enlarge image[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Pedestrian look at an electronic stock board displaying the Nikkei 225 Stock Average figure, top center, and other indices outside a securities firm in Tokyo. Photographer: Koichi Kamoshida/Bloomberg
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

4:37

June 12 (Bloomberg) -- Timothy Riddell, Singapore-based head of global markets research at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., talks about Japan's economy, government and central bank policies, and stock market. Japan's machine orders fell 8.8 percent in April from March after rising for two months, the Cabinet office said in Tokyo today. Riddell also discusses the prospects for the U.S. economy and Federal Reserve monetary policy with Susan Li on Bloomberg Television's "First Up." (Source: Bloomberg)
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

6:53

June 12 (Bloomberg) -- Kathy Matsui, Tokyo-based chief Japan equity strategist at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., talks about the nation's economy, government and central bank policies, and financial markets. Japan’s machinery orders fell more than expected in April, a government report showed. Matsui speaks with Susan Li on Bloomberg Television's "First Up." (Source: Bloomberg)
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

3:16

June 11 (Bloomberg) -- Steven Englander, head of Group of 10 currency strategy at Citigroup Inc., discusses emerging market currencies and Bank of Japan policy. He talks with Tom Keene and Sara Eisen on Bloomberg Television's "Surveillance." (Source: Bloomberg)

More than $2.5 trillion has been erased from the value of global equities since Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernankesaid May 22 that the Fed “could” scale back stimulus efforts if the employment outlook shows “sustainable improvement.” The yen has appreciated more than 7 percent after sliding to a 4 ½-year low on May 22.

“There’s lots of confusion around the world at present about what central bank policy means for the outlook of the global economy, earnings and valuations,” Matthew Sherwood, the Sydney-based head of investment market research atPerpetual Ltd. (PPT), which manages about $25 billion, said by e-mail. “The Fed is likely to continue to be ambiguous about its next step, probably because it’s not sure. This will see markets continue to be volatile.”

Currency Volatility

JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Global FX Volatility Index was at 10.55 percent, after reaching 10.59 percent yesterday, the highest since June 19, 2012.

The yen weakened 0.6 percent to 96.62 per dollar and fell 0.5 percent to 128.48 per euro. Europe’s 17-nation shared currency was little changed at $1.3296. The Aussie added 0.9 percent to 95.13 U.S. cents as a report showed consumer confidence in the nation rebounded this month.

The U.S. sells $21 billion of 10-year notes today and $13 billion of 30-year bonds tomorrow. A three-year auction yesterday drew the lowest bidding since 2010. Bill Gross, who runs the world’s biggest bond fund at Pacific Investment Management Co., said he cut his Treasury holdings last month.

The S&P GSCI (SPGSCI) gauge of 24 raw materials dropped 0.2 percent. West Texas Intermediate oil declined 0.2 percent to $95.18 a barrel. The International Energy Agency trimmed demand forecasts for OPEC’s crude in the second half of the year amid signs of slowing growth in China as output from the producer group rose to a seven-month high. Nickel declined for a sixth consecutive day, the longest streak since Dec. 31, as stockpiles in warehouses monitored by the London Metal Exchange jumped to a record. Wheat dropped 0.5 percent before the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s monthly crop report due at 12 p.m. in Washington.

To contact the reporters on this story: Stephen Kirkland inLondon at [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]; Glenys Sim in Singapore at [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Justin Carrigan at [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]