Asian Stocks to Aussie Bonds Drop as Ringgit, Baht Slide Asian Stocks fell for a fourth day after U.S. Treasury yields reached a two-year high. Currencies from Malaysia to Thailand declined amid an emerging market exodus that’s seen investors withdraw $8.4 billion from exchange-traded funds this year. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 0.4 percent at 12:08 p.m. in Tokyo. Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite Index dropped 3 percent, taking a four-day rout beyond 10 percent. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures rose 0.1 percent after the gauge slid to a five-week low in New York. Australian 10-year bond yields headed for the highest level since April 2012. Malaysia’s ringgit decreased for a seventh day, and the Thai baht fell 0.8 percent. The New Zealand dollar slumped 0.9 percent on central bank loan curbs. Asian economies are struggling to ignite growth, fueling pessimism in markets already concerned the Federal Reserve, which publishes minutes of its July meeting tomorrow, will start reducing bond purchases in September. Australia’s central bank signaled further interest-rate cuts remain a possibility, according to minutes of its Aug. 6 meeting. New Zealand’s central bank Governor Graeme Wheeler announced property loan restrictions from October to slow house-price growth. “It’s a very uncomfortable period,” Richard Yetsenga, the head of global markets research at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. (ANZ), told Bloomberg TV in Sydney. “Asia as a whole, even though the data’s probably ok, isn’t going to feel like a great place for a while as we adjust to the new world order where U.S. bond yields are going up, not down.” bloomberg/news/2013-08-19/asian-futures-fall-as-wti-drops-amid-treasury-yield-surge.html
Posted on: Tue, 20 Aug 2013 03:32:17 +0000
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