Written by Uncle Banerjee
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Asian stocks rallied on Friday and the yen further retreated from its recent 34-year low after Apple's record $110 billion share buyback plan boosted the tech sector. , capped off a turbulent week that saw allegations of Japanese government interference.
Markets in Japan and mainland China are closed on Friday, which could dampen regional trading activity as traders focus on the U.S. non-farm payrolls report later in the day. expensive.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan rose 1.5%, marking its second consecutive week of gains. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped 2% and is expected to rise 5% this week.
The yen began the week at a 34-year low of 160.245 yen to the dollar on Monday, but rose 0.55% to 152.80 yen to the dollar in early trading on Friday. [FRX/]
Meanwhile, traders suspect that authorities may have intervened for at least two days this week, and that Japanese authorities may have spent about $60 billion to protect the beleaguered yen, according to Bank of Japan data. Trading desks around the world are on high alert for further moves by the Japanese government. .
A series of public holidays in Japan and Monday's public holiday in Britain, the world's largest foreign exchange trading center, could signal further intervention by the Japanese government. Japanese markets are also closed on Mondays.
The yen has been in decline for more than a decade, largely because Japan's low interest rates drove capital out of the country into high-yielding assets in other large economies, including the United States. Despite the yen's strong rebound this week, it is still down 8% against the dollar this year.
There have been two suspicions of Treasury interference, but if another $20 billion of yen is bought on Friday, there will be real fear of a yen short, and the dollar/yen pair will fall below 150 yen, said Chris, head of research at Pepperstone.・Mr. Weston stated in a memo.
“Three times good things happen. While another intervention seems unlikely, the Treasury/BOJ could turn into momentum traders and shake things up one last time on the non-farm payrolls front. ”
The dollar index, which measures the value of the U.S. currency against the country's six currencies, ended at 105.25. For the week, the index is expected to fall 0.7%, its worst weekly performance since early March.
The Fed kept interest rates on hold this week, signaling its next policy move would be a rate cut, but Chairman Jerome Powell said recent strong inflation numbers meant the first rate cuts could take a long time to materialize. He pointed out that it suggests that
“The Fed's confidence has clearly been shaken by the recent series of disappointing inflation announcements,” said Susan Hill, senior portfolio manager at Federated Hermes.
Hill said the current target range for federal funds of 5.25% to 5.50% is likely to remain unchanged in the coming months, although the hurdles for returning to a tightening bias are quite high.
U.S. stocks ended higher on Thursday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq up 1.5%, helped by semiconductor stocks. [.N]
Apple Inc. reported quarterly results and guidance that beat modest expectations and announced a record share buyback program in the after-market hours, sending the company's stock up about 7% in extended trading.
U.S. economic data on Thursday also showed the labor market remains tight ahead of key government jobs data to be released later on Friday. Economists polled by Reuters had predicted 243,000 people, with a range of forecasts from 150,000 to 280,000.
In commodities, U.S. crude oil rose 0.39% to $79.26 per barrel, and Brent crude rose 0.37% to $83.98 per barrel. [O/R]
Spot gold prices were last seen at $2,304.16 per ounce, forecast to fall for the second consecutive week.
(Edited by Sri Navaratnam)
