Asian stocks climbed, Australia’s dollar strengthened to its highest in a month and commodities rallied after Chinese trade data exceeded estimates. European equity futures increased while the U.S. currency weakened and gold halted a five-day gain.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 1.1 percent as of 4:12 p.m. in Tokyo as a measure of Chinese shares in Hong Kong headed toward the biggest two-day gain since November. Euro Stoxx 50 Index futures rose 0.3 percent and Standard & Poor’s 500 Index contracts advanced 0.1 percent. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell a second day, while the Aussie reversed losses against major peers. The S&P GSCI Index (SPGSCI) of 24 commodities advanced 0.2 percent and gold fell 0.3 percent.
Chinese exports jumped 10.6 percent in January from a year earlier, eclipsing an estimate for a 0.1 percent gain, while imports accelerated 10 percent and the trade surplus widened. Risk assets gained as Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen said growth is picking up in the world’s largest economy and U.S. lawmakers voted to suspend the country’s debt limit until March 2015. The euro zone reports factory output figures today while European Central Bank President Mario Draghi speaks in Brussels.
“Chinese trade data came in much better than expected,” Dariusz Kowalczyk, a Hong Kong-based strategist at Credit Agricole CIB, said in a note today. “The data suggests that growth slowdown was not as bad as feared. The numbers are positive for risk globally.”
About three stocks rose for each that fell on the Asia-Pacific gauge, with all 10 industry groups advancing. The Asian equity benchmark is rebounding after dropping 4.6 percent in January, its worst start to a year since 2009.
The Topix index increased 1.3 percent in Tokyo after being closed yesterday for a holiday. Toyota Motor Corp. pared its advance to 0.4 percent as Japan’s transportation ministry said the world’s largest carmaker will recall about 1 million Prius vehicles at home.
South Korea’s Kospi index increased 0.2 percent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index added 1.1 percent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index (HSI) increased 1 percent, taking its rebound to 4.2 percent since a more-than five-month low on Feb. 5. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index extended yesterday’s 2.5 percent surge, with just seven of its 40 members declining. Gains remained intact even after Shanghai Securities News reported today without citing anyone that an investment product created by Jilin Province Trust Co. and backed by a loan to a coal company failed to repay investors.
The export data “obviously goes against the expectation of a slowdown,” said Tim Leung, a Hong Kong-based portfolio manager who helps oversee about $1.5 billion at IG Investment Ltd. “Valuations are low because investors had the general expectation that growth will continue to decelerate.”
The Australian dollar reached a one-month high of 90.67 U.S. cents, reversing earlier weakness after China reported a trade surplus of $31.9 billion, the widest for January since 2009. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, which tracks the greenback against 10 leading currencies, retreated toward its lowest level since Jan. 13. The yen and British pound climbed 0.1 percent.
South Korea’s won strengthened to 1,062.65 per dollar in Seoul, while the rupiah increased to 12,079. Malaysia’s ringgit advanced 0.2 percent before data today expected to show a wider current-account surplus and annual economic expansion of 4.7 percent in 2013.
Federal Open Market Committee officials have twice reduced the size of the monthly asset-purchase program, lowering bond buying to $65 billion from $85 billion last year. Also in the U.S., the vote to suspend the U.S. debt limit until March 2015 gave a win to President Barack Obama and Democrats in Congress who insisted that the ceiling be lifted without conditions.
“Markets have been oversold recently as concerns about emerging markets were a bit overblown,” Nader Naeimi, the Sydney-based head of dynamic asset allocation at AMP Capital Investors, which manages $131 billion, said by phone. “Yellen sounded quite dovish, which is what investors wanted to hear. While things are improving, she acknowledged that that the U.S. recovery is still not strong enough, suggesting monetary policy will remain easy. It’s good news that the U.S. debt ceiling debate is out of the way.”
ECB President Draghi will deliver the keynote address at a conference in Brussels today. Euro-zone industrial output fell a seasonally adjusted 0.3 percent in December compared with a gain of 1.8 percent in the previous month, a Bloomberg survey shows before data later today. Bank of England Governor Mark Carney releases an inflation report.
West Texas Intermediate oil rose for the sixth time in seven days after an industry report showed stockpiles fell at the delivery point for the U.S. crude. WTI for March delivery advanced 0.5 percent to $100.48 a barrel in New York. Copper, zinc and nickel all increased.
Gold fell to as low as $1,284.15 an ounce and silver declined 0.4 percent to $20.16.
Natural gas soared as much as 4.2 percent on declining stockpiles. U.S. natural gas inventories probably fell by 232 billion cubic feet in the week ended Feb. 7, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey before Energy Information Administration data on Feb. 13. That tops the five-year average drop of 162 billion.-Bloomberg
