Trader At A Japanese Brokerage

(Reuters) - Asian shares fell on Friday and growth-linked currencies such as the Australian dollar were shunned after data showing shrinking factory activity in China and the euro zone heightened concerns about a slowdown in the global economy. Materials stocks such as miner BHP Billiton (BHP.AX) were prominent among the losers, but crude oil steadied after tumbling overnight and copper bounced off a 2-week low. Data on Thursday showed China's manufacturing sector activity shrank in March for a fifth successive month, while German and French manufacturing suffered a sharp decline that even the most pessimistic economists failed to predict. "Fears of a Chinese hard landing are on the rise; overdone we think," said Vincent Chaigneau, strategist at Societe Generale. "Concerns over Europe ...

(Reuters) - The euro nudged lower on Tuesday in Asia, though most traders clung to hopes Greece would finally clinch a rescue package despite its politicians postponing a decision to accept painful terms by yet another day. The Australian dollar jumped a full cent to a six-month peak at $1.0812 and reached a record high on the euro after the Reserve Bank of Australia in a surprise move kept interest rates steady at 4.25 percent. Failure to secure the 130 billion euro ($170 billion) rescue for Greece would risk a messy debt default and destabilize the entire euro zone, an outcome deemed too extreme to contemplate by many experts. These hopes have kept euro bears in check for now, resulting in a volatile but resilient single currency. The euro stood at $1.3108, a tad below late New York ...

(Reuters) - Asian shares and the euro paused from last week's rally on Monday as investors sweated on the progress of crucial Greek talks on a debt swap deal to avoid a default, while activity was subdued due to the Lunar New Year holiday in much of Asia. Caution returned as Greece and private creditors struggled to reach an agreement vital for restoring confidence in Europe's refinancing ability, and mixed U.S. corporate earnings revived concerns over global growth prospects and weighed on sentiment. The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was barely changed from Friday, when it touched its highest in more than two months to post a year-to-date rise of about 7.5 percent. The pan-Asia index was dragged down by a sluggish Australian stock market, where uncertainty ...

Fundamental Analysis EUR "The biggest challenge is to respond to the crisis in an adequate manner" - Christine Lagarde, the IMF Managing Director The International Monetary Fund is aiming to increase its lending capacity by 500 billion dollars to protect economies from the escalating euro zone debt crisis. GBP "Unemployment could become one of the main economic and political issues this year" - Peter Dixon, an economist at Commerzbank AG The number of people claiming unemployment benefits rose by 1.2 thousand to 1.6 million in December and the unemployment rate increased to 8.4 per cent, the highest rate in 16 years, said the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday. USD "Builders are seeing greater interest among potential buyers as employment and consumer confidence slowly ...

(Reuters) - The euro hit 16-month lows against the dollar and sterling on Friday and hovered near an 11-year low versus the yen, with further declines expected as worries grow about a worsening euro zone debt crisis and sovereign funding pressures. Next week's Italian and Spanish government bond sales are seen as the year's first big tests of fragile euro zone countries' abilities to raise funds and are likely to keep the market on edge and the euro under pressure. U.S. jobs data due at 1330 GMT could provide some optimism on the outlook for the U.S. economy after a measure of private-sector hiring surged in December. They are expected to show a rise of 150,000, but many think the figure may be higher. Strong U.S. jobs data could help risk sentiment but many analysts expect this may ...

(Reuters) - European stocks and the euro rose on Thursday, recovering much of their losses a day earlier when banks borrowed nearly half a trillion euros in three-year funds from the region's central bank, with concerns about the health of Europe's financial system keeping gains in check. The European Central Bank lending has eased fears about an immediate credit crunch, but is not seen as resolving the huge indebtedness of some euro zone countries. The euro was higher at around $1.3110, above an 11-month low of $1.2860, with traders seeing major support around $1.3000, the December 14 low. The euro briefly touched a one-week high near $1.32 on Wednesday. "The ECB's funding operation is not a fundamental fix to the euro zone's debt problems and is only a way to buying time, so flight-to- ...

(Reuters) - Asian shares fell and the euro struggled on Thursday as doubts remained over how much of the funds that banks raised from an inaugural long-term European Central Bank tender will actually flow into struggling euro zone economies and help restore confidence. MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS fell 0.7 percent, after climbing to a one-week high on Wednesday, while Tokyo's Nikkei stock average .N225 ended down 0.8 percent. Despite the drop, Japanese equities have been least affected by the volatility stemming from the euro zone debt woes, with daily swings in the benchmark exceeding 2.5 percent for only 16 trading sessions this year, compared with 88 such days for the Euro STOXX 50 .STOXX50E and 41 for the S&P 500 .SPX. The euro was ...

(Reuters) - The euro edged up against the dollar on Tuesday, consolidating the previous day's gains ahead of a meeting of euro zone finance ministers that some market players hope will bring progress in tackling the region's debt crisis. But strategists warned that the euro remained vulnerable to renewed selling unless investors see concrete action, given they have been disappointed by policymakers in the past. Market players will also focus on a bond auction in Italy, which aims to raise up to 8 billion euros. Any further hefty rises in Italian bond yields could trigger demand for the safe-haven dollar. The euro was last up 0.1 percent to $1.3324, easing from a session high of $1.3373 with traders citing selling interest from Russian names. It remained within sight of the high of $1. ...

(Reuters) - The euro edged up against the dollar on Tuesday, consolidating the gains made the previous day on hopes that European officials will finally make some progress in tackling their debt crisis this week. But ever conscious that policymakers can easily disappoint yet again, markets will be hard pressed to keep pushing the common currency higher in the absence of concrete action, traders said. There was little reaction in Asia to news Fitch had cut the credit outlook for the United States to negative, though it expected no move on the actual rating until late 2013. The euro also showed limited reaction to a report on French newspaper La Tribune's website saying Standard & Poor's could change the outlook for France's triple-A rating to negative within the next 10 days. The single ...