Equity Gains Spread Through Asia; Dollar Weakens: Markets Wrap

Asian equities and currencies advanced with government bonds after Janet Yellen signaled the Federal Reserve won’t rush to tighten monetary policy. The dollar weakened for a fourth straight day, with a gauge of the currency hitting a 10- month low.

Yellen’s testimony diverted attention from Donald Trump Jr.’s emails about his meeting with a Russian lawyer, though concern remains that the latest saga in Washington may waylay efforts to reform taxes and boost spending. The Fed chair’s gradualist tone on policy came after signals from central banks around the world that accommodative policies may no longer be needed as the global economy strengthens.

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 1.1 percent to its highest since July 2015 as of 1:00 p.m. local time.

* Japan’s Topix index fluctuated and was last up 0.1 percent.

* Futures on the S&P 500 were up 0.1 percent. The underlying gauge advanced Wednesday to just 0.4 percent shy of its closing record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 123 points to a record 21,532.

Currencies
* The yen strengthened 0.1 percent to 113.06 per dollar, after climbing 0.7 percent Wednesday in its biggest gain for more than a month. The Korean won rose 0.8 percent, the most since May 25, to 1,136.80 per dollar.

* The U.S. dollar was down against all G-10 peers. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.1 percent to its lowest since September 2016. The gauge has lost 0.7 percent this week.

* The Canadian dollar rose 0.1 percent after jumping 1.3 percent Wednesday. The pound rose 0.1 percent and the euro was up 0.2 percent.

Commodities

* West Texas Intermediate crude was steady at $45.50 a barrel.
It climbed 1 percent the previous session after data showed crude inventories fell 7.56 million barrels last week.

* Gold added 0.2 percent to $1,223.31 an ounce, a fourth day of gains.

Source: Bloomberg Pro Terminal

Junior Trader Stefan Panteleev

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