Global stocks mixed after Bernanke comments
Tuesday, 7 December 2010
BEIJING, dec 6 (AP): Global stocks were mixed Monday after US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said the Fed might buy more bonds, while a stronger yen weighed on Japanese exporters.
Japan's Nikkei 225 lost 0.1 per cent to 10,167.23. Exporters including automakers lost ground after a disappointing US jobs report last Friday weakened the dollar, which would make Japanese exports more expensive abroad.
China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.5 per cent to 2,587.17.
In Europe, London's FTSE 100 lost 0.4 per cent to 5,745.32, while Germany's DAX gained 0.2 per cent to 6,962.84. France's CAC40 was unchanged at 3,750.43.
South Korea's Kospi fell 0.2 per cent to 1,953.64, and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slipped .12 per cent to 4,688.6. Benchmarks in New Zealand, Singapore and Taiwan advanced.
Asian investors were encouraged after Bernanke said the US central bank is prepared to buy even more than $600 billion in Treasury bonds over the next eight months if necessary to boost economic growth.
That might trigger an influx of money into the markets of developing Asian economies as investors seek better returns.
Hopes for such a move "will have a good impact, at least in sentiment, because there would be further `hot money' that will chase tangible assets," said Peter Lai, investment manager for DBS Vickers in Hong Kong.
In New York last Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average spent much of the day in the red but closed up 0.2 per cent, to close at 11,382.09 - not far from its post-recession high.
The US Labour Department reported November unemployment climbed to a seven-month high of 9.8 per cent. Employers added just 39,000 jobs, far below what economists had forecast.
Japan's Nikkei 225 lost 0.1 per cent to 10,167.23. Exporters including automakers lost ground after a disappointing US jobs report last Friday weakened the dollar, which would make Japanese exports more expensive abroad.
China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.5 per cent to 2,587.17.
In Europe, London's FTSE 100 lost 0.4 per cent to 5,745.32, while Germany's DAX gained 0.2 per cent to 6,962.84. France's CAC40 was unchanged at 3,750.43.
South Korea's Kospi fell 0.2 per cent to 1,953.64, and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slipped .12 per cent to 4,688.6. Benchmarks in New Zealand, Singapore and Taiwan advanced.
Asian investors were encouraged after Bernanke said the US central bank is prepared to buy even more than $600 billion in Treasury bonds over the next eight months if necessary to boost economic growth.
That might trigger an influx of money into the markets of developing Asian economies as investors seek better returns.
Hopes for such a move "will have a good impact, at least in sentiment, because there would be further `hot money' that will chase tangible assets," said Peter Lai, investment manager for DBS Vickers in Hong Kong.
In New York last Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average spent much of the day in the red but closed up 0.2 per cent, to close at 11,382.09 - not far from its post-recession high.
The US Labour Department reported November unemployment climbed to a seven-month high of 9.8 per cent. Employers added just 39,000 jobs, far below what economists had forecast.