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Asian equity futures pushed some advances in U.S. stocks while the yen held downgrades versus most major currencies as investors assessed prospects for less economic stimulus before this week’s Federal Reserve meeting. Treasuries declined and natural gas bounced back.
Anticipating Bernanke
About $2.7 trillion has been erased from the value of global equities since Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said May 22 that U.S. policy makers “could” scale back stimulus efforts should the employment outlook show “sustainable improvement.” Stocks retreated from earlier highs today after the Financial Times reported that Bernanke may signal the central bank is close to tapering its $85 billion in monthly asset purchases.
Worst Passed
Leaders of the G-8 nations say the worst has passed for the global economy, an aide to U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron said after summit talks on promoting employment and growth. While economic prospects remain weak, risks of weakness have eased due to actions taken by policy makers in the U.S., euro area and Japan, and to the resilience of emerging-market economies, the aide said, following the meeting in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland.
U.S. Homebuilding
Investors have been monitoring U.S. economic reports to determine whether growth is strong enough to prompt the Fed to scale back stimulus measures. The Fed Bank of New York’s general economic index climbed to 7.8, a report yesterday showed. Readings of greater than zero signal expansion in New York, northern New Jersey and southern Connecticut.
Gas Gains
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 0.7 percent after posting four straight weeks of losses, with trading volume 20 percent less than the 30-day average. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 0.4 percent.
Natural gas climbed, capping the biggest gain in seven weeks, on forecasts for hotter weather in late June that would spur demand from power plants. Futures for July delivery rose 3.8 percent to $3.875 per million British thermal units.
Crude oil fluctuated near a nine-month high, settling at $97.77 a barrel in New York, down 0.1 percent. The price climbed as much as 0.9 percent, the most since Sept. 14.
Soybeans declined for the fourth straight session in the U.S., capping the longest slump in seven weeks, as drier conditions in the U.S. accelerated planting and boosted crop development. Futures slid 1 percent to close at $12.855 a bushel. Corn rebounded, reversing an early decline.
