ROME: Asian stocks and US index increased as oil fell before the Federal Reserve reports on financial policy.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 0.1 percent by 12:40 p.m. in Tokyo, trading near lowest level since Oct. 17 as energy companies rallied and Japan’s Topix index advanced 0.4 percent. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures gained 0.2 percent after the index fell to a seven-week low. Crude oil in New York fell 1.9 percent and Brent in London slid 1.1 percent, spurring losses for Norway’s krone. The yen slipped 0.3 percent after surging to the strongest in a month yesterday, while one-month forwards on the ruble gained 1.4 percent.
The Fed ends a two-day meeting today, with economists predicting that Russia’s currency crisis and plunging oil prices won’t stop policy makers from dropping a vow to keep interest rates low for a “considerable time.” The euro area reports inflation today after weaker-than-estimated purchasing managers’ indexes in Germany and France and a warning from Bank of England Governor Mark Carney that a global slowdown threatens financial stability. The ruble tumbled even after interest rates were raised by the most since 1998.
“You’ve got to start factoring in Russia and the ripple effects if that country goes in for a real collapse,” said David Lennox, a resource analyst at Fat Prophets in Sydney. “It’s heading for a real disaster. Russia’s not an isolated country. It seems that it’s maybe what the markets are going to fret over for a while.”
The Asia-Pacific index dropped 4.5 percent this month to yesterday’s close. A gauge of energy companies in the measure climbed today after losing 21 percent from the end of September through yesterday.
European stock markets slide at open 25 june 2018
London:Europe's main stock markets dropped 0.7 percent in opening deals on Monday, as investors worried over the festering global trade...