Australia Commodity Stocks Climb on Prices, Japan Futures Flat
Email |
Print |
A A A
By Patrick Rial
Dec. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Australia commodity shares rose after
a climb in raw materials prices boosted the earnings prospects of
resource companies. Japanstock futures were little-changed as
passage of a U.S. automaker bailout became more tenuous.
BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s largest mining company,
gained 0.8 percent after oil, gold and copper prices increased
more than 3 percent. U.S.-traded receipts of Toyota Motor Corp.
added 0.3 percent as Senate Republicans yesterday voiced
opposition to a rescue for General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC,
raising concern the companies will collapse before an agreement
can be reached. Toyota may be forced to lower its dividend
payment as the current projection exceeds its net income forecast.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index sank 57.10, or 1.6 percent, to
3,583.60 as of 10:41 a.m. in Sydney. New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index
advanced 0.6 percent in Wellington. In New York, the Standard &
Poor’s 500 Index climbed 1.2 percent, led by energy producers.
“Oil prices are being supported by bets that OPEC will be
able to halt the market rout,” Juichi Wako, a Tokyo-based
strategist at Nomura Securities Co., said in an interview with
Bloomberg Television. “The direction of the auto bailout has
become harder to read. This problem will continue to determine
the bearing of the stock market.”
Nikkei 225 Stock Average futures expiring in December closed
at 8,635 in Chicago, little changed from 8,635 in Osaka and 8,610
in Singapore. The Bank of New York Mellon Asia ADR Price Index,
which tracks American depositary receipts of the region’s
companies, jumped 4.6 percent.
Oil Jumps
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index has fallen 45 percent this year,
as the credit crisis triggered by the collapse of the U.S.
housing market created a global recession. Efforts by central
banks and governments to alleviate the downturn have helped the
gauge rebound 15 percent from its Oct. 27 bottom.
Crude oil for January gained 3.4 percent to $43.52 a barrel
in New York yesterday. Russia signaled it may coordinate an
output cut with OPEC next week to end the five-month, $100 slump
in prices. Copper futures rallied 3.6 percent, while gold gained
4.5 percent.
U.S. Republican Senator George Voinovich said there likely
aren’t enough supporters in his party to pass a $14 billion auto
bailout package. GM has said that it may not survive into 2009
without immediate aid.
Toyota may cut auto production by 1 million units, Japan’s
national broadcaster NHK said. The company may also be forced to
cut its dividend payment as the projected payout of 235 billion
yen ($2.53 billion) is lower than the 57 billion yen Toyota
expects to earn in the second half of the fiscal year.
Rio Tinto Group surged 9.8 percent to A$41.08 after the
world’s third-largest mining company said it will eliminate
14,000 jobs, reduce net debt by $10 billion by end 2009 and slash
$5 billion in spending as the global recession curbs demand for
metals.
To contact the reporter for this story:
Patrick Rial in Tokyo at
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Mulai chatting dengan teman di Yahoo! Pingbox baru sekarang!! Membuat
tempat chat pribadi di blog Anda sekarang sangatlah mudah.
http://id.messenger.yahoo.com/pingbox/
