Asian Morning Briefing: Nasdaq Closes at Record High

 
                       LAST    CHANGE   % CHG 
DJIA                 18115.84    180.1   1.00% 
Nasdaq                5132.95    68.07   1.34% 
S&P 500               2121.24    20.80   0.99% 
Japan: Nikkei 225    19990.82  -228.45  -1.13% 
Hang Seng            26694.66   -59.13  -0.22% 
Shanghai Composite    4785.36  -182.54  -3.67% 
S&P BSE Sensex       27115.83   283.17   1.06% 
Australia: S&P/ASX     5524.9    -70.5  -1.26% 
UK: FTSE 100          6707.88    27.33   0.41% 
 
 
                    PRICE CHG  YIELD 
U.S. 2 Year              1/32  0.637 
U.S. 5 Year                 0  1.625 
U.S. 10 Year            -5/32  2.337 
Australia 10 Year       1 1/4  2.858 
China 10 Year           13/32   3.61 
India 10 Year           -1/32  7.947 
Japan 10 Year           14/32  0.438 
German 10 Year           1/32  0.812 
 
 
                          LAST(MID)  CHANGE 
Australia $ (AUD/USD)        0.7801   0.0051 
Yen (USD/JPY)                122.94    -0.48 
S. Korean Won (USD/KRW)     1105.66    -9.84 
Chinese Yuan (USD/CNY)        6.209  -0.0006 
Euro (EUR/USD)               1.1367    0.003 
WSJ Dollar Index               85.6    -0.21 
 
 
               LAST   CHANGE  % CHG 
Crude Oil      60.51    0.59  0.98% 
Brent Crude    64.93    0.26  0.40% 
Gold          1201.6    24.8  2.11% 
 

        MARKETS AT A GLANCE
        (Data as of approximately 5 p.m. ET)
        SNAPSHOT:
        U.S. stocks rose broadly Thursday, propelling the Nasdaq to a record high, as investors embraced signs that the Federal Reserve would take a slow approach to raising rates. Long-term government-bond prices fell again. Gold prices soared to their highest level in nearly four weeks. Oil prices made small gains on a weaker dollar.
        OPENING CALL:
        Friday brings the announcement of the Bank of Japan's monetary decision. BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda surprised central bank watchers last week when he said the yen had become "very weak." Was that a signal that the central bank felt its aggressive monetary easing could go too far? There's unlikely to be any change in policy, especially while inflation remains well below the BOJ's 2% target. But it's worth wondering whether the unease of one or two BOJ members over the impact of the central bank's asset purchases is becoming more widely shared on the central bank.
        EQUITIES
        U.S. stocks rose broadly, propelling the Nasdaq Composite Index to a record high, as investors embraced signs that the Federal Reserve would take a slow approach to raising rates.
        Stocks began the session with sharp gains on the back of busy trading, lifting the Nasdaq Composite to its first intraday record high since the height of the dot-com era in March of 2000. The technology-heavy index gained 68.07 points, or 1.3%, to close at 5132.95, its first record close since late May.
        The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 180.10 points, or 1%, to 18115.84. The S&P 500 index added 20.80 points, or 1%, to 2121.24. Both indexes remain shy of records last reached in late May.
        Around midmorning the Nasdaq touched an intraday high of 5143.32, lifting the index above its high of 5132.52 last seen on the eve of the dot-com crash on March 10, 2000. The climb was fueled in large part by gains in the biotechnology sector, which was behind much of the index's growth in recent years. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index rose 2.9% and is up 24% so far this year.
        The Nasdaq's new high clears one of the last of the bubble-era hurdles for the index. While both the Dow and S&P 500 have notched a bevy of records in recent years, the Nasdaq has taken longer to reach new heights since its steep fall after the tech crash. In April, the index set a new all-time closing record for the first time since 2000.
        The broad gains in stocks came one session after the central bank said the economy was firming and that it would take an even more measured approach to rate increases. Although the Fed concluded its meeting Wednesday, traders said the central bank's comments continued to lure stock buyers for a second session.
        The Fed statement "was read positively" by investors, said Brian Fenske, head of sales trading at broker ITG. "It just seems bullish--lower rates for longer."
        In corporate news, Fitbit stock soared 48% after the maker of wearable fitness-tracking devices priced its initial public offering at $20 share, above expectations.
        China's stock market fell sharply Thursday, with the smaller ChiNext index suffering one of its worst days on record, as analysts turn increasingly wary of what they see as a bubble in the country's equities.
        FOREX:
        The dollar continued to weaken against the euro and the yen on softer-than-expected U.S. inflation, one day after the Federal Reserve reiterated that higher consumer prices remained one of the prerequisites for raising interest rates.
        The dollar was down 0.3% against the common currency by late afternoon, with one euro buying $1.1371, on pace for the dollar's lowest New York session close against the euro in a month. The U.S. currency fell 0.5% to 122.88 yen.
        The dollar faltered after the U.S. consumer-price index for May climbed a seasonally adjusted 0.4% from one month earlier, the Labor Department said, marking its largest monthly gain since February 2013. Economists had predicted a 0.5% increase.
        Even as recent numbers for U.S. hourly wages, business investment and retail sales have shown signs of recovery, consumer prices are only plodding toward the Fed's 2% target.
        "The dollar will remain under pressure until you get clear signs from the data that would move the Fed closer toward hiking rates," said Ian Gordon, currency strategist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. "The Fed has maintained that inflation numbers will be key for that."
        BONDS:
        Long-term government-bond prices fell again, reflecting the latest wave of investor concern that the Federal Reserve's efforts to support economic growth by keeping interest rates low risks reigniting long-dormant inflation.
        The Fed on Wednesday signaled it expected to raise short-term U.S. rates at a slower pace in coming years than central bank officials projected in their last official economic forecast, in March. The Fed expects its benchmark short-term interest rate, the fed-funds rate, to remain below 3% in December 2017. That would be far lower than the overnight bank-lending rate has been this late in an economic expansion for the past half century.
        The Fed's stance is driving investors to sell longer-dated bonds and move cash into shorter-dated notes. In essence, investors are charging a higher yield premium to buy Treasurys maturing in a decade or more versus those due in two years. That's because inflation chips away at bonds' fixed income over time and is the main threat to longer-dated bonds.
        "There is a recognition in the bond market that the Fed may fall behind the curve," said Richard Schlanger, a fund manager at Pioneer Investments in Boston, which has more than $40 billion in assets under management.
        COMMODITIES:
        Oil prices made small gains on the back of a weaker dollar and data that suggests a decrease in U.S. stockpiles.
        Light, sweet crude for July delivery, the U.S. benchmark, gained 53 cents, or 0.9%, to $60.45 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The global Brent contract for August ended up 39 cents, or 0.6%, at $64.26 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange.
        In another sign of the market's weakening volatility, this was the first four-session stretch since October that front-month U.S. prices have moved less than 1% a day.
        "The market really seems centered around $60," said Kyle Cooper, managing director of research at IAF Advisors, a Houston consulting firm.
        Gold prices soared to their highest level in nearly four weeks as buyers flocked back to the market in response to the Federal Reserve's cautious tone on raising interest rates and as concerns about Greece stoked demand for a haven.
        TODAY'S HEADLINES:
        House Passes Fast-Track Trade Bill; Senate Outcome Uncertain
        The House passed legislation to restore presidential power to ease trade pacts through Congress, as Republicans and pro-trade Democrats drove through a new fast-track bill a week after liberals brought down a similar measure.
        U.S., Chinese Universities to Launch Technology, Design Program
        Funded by a $40 million investment from Microsoft, the University of Washington and China's elite Tsinghua University will launch a new program in Seattle in the fall of 2016 to focus on technology and design innovation--a cooperative move between nations for whom technology has been a sore point in recent years.
        Eurozone Summit Called on Greece Bailout
        Eurozone leaders will try to clinch a deal on Greece's flailing bailout at a hastily called crisis summit Monday, after finance ministers failed again to bridge the gap between Athens and its lenders.
        U.S. Consumer Prices Rise in May
        U.S. consumer prices posted the largest monthly increase in May in more than two years, a sign modest inflation pressures are beginning to build.
        U.S. Jobless Claims Fall to 267,000
        The number of Americans seeking first-time unemployment benefits fell last week, the latest sign of steady job creation.
        News Corp to Cut Jobs, Shift Resources
        New Corp is carrying out a major reorganization at the unit that publishes The Wall Street Journal that will involve substantial job cuts and shifting of resources into digital media efforts and core coverage areas.
        Amazon, Penguin Agree to Deal on Book Sales
        Amazon.com and Penguin Random House, the world's largest consumer book publisher, have reached terms covering the sale of digital and physical books in the U.S. and U.K.
        Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Nears Deal to Be Bought
        A deal between Sequential Brands and Martha Stewart Living could be announced in the coming days, according to people familiar with the matter.
        Former AIG Chief Asks Court to Revive 'Backdoor Bailout' Claims
        (MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires

        June 18, 2015 17:30 ET (21:30 GMT)

        Former AIG Chief Executive Hank Greenberg will appeal not just the parts of a federal court ruling that didn't go in his favor, but is seeking to revive claims that had been dismissed in 2013, his legal team said.
        Fitbit Shares Surge in Market Debut
        Fitbit shares soared in their stock-market debut. The stock opened at $30.40, 52% above its initial public offering price of $20.
        RECENT DJ EXCLUSIVES:
        Venezuela Oil Loans Go Awry for China
        FitBit Isn't Too Stretched -- Heard on the Street
        Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Nears Deal to Be Bought
        North Castle in Exclusive Talks to Buy Controlling Stake in Barry's Bootcamp
        KB Home's Foundations Remain Solid -- Ahead of the Tape
        TODAY'S CALENDAR
        (Times in GMT, followed by country and event)
        2100 SKA May PPI
        0401 MAL May CPI
        0430 JPN Apr All Industry Index
        0500 JPN May Steel Production
        0500 JPN Apr Indexes of Business Conditions - Revision
        0530 JPN May Tokyo area department store sales
        0530 JPN May Nationwide department store sales
        0600 GER May PPI
        0730 THA Weekly International Reserves
        0800 EU Apr Euro area balance of payments
        0830 UK May Public sector finances
        0830 UK Q1 Bank of England on UK banks external claims
        0900 ITA Apr Balance of Payments
        1130 IND Weekly foreign exchange reserves
        1230 CAN May CPI
        1230 CAN Apr Retail trade
        1400 US May Regional & State Employment & Unemployment
        1800 CAN Bank of Canada Weekly Financial Statistics
        (END) Dow Jones Newswires

        June 18, 2015 17:30 ET (21:30 GMT)

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