Markets post modest gains but doubts remain – City Index

June 28, 2011 - PRLog -- The MSCI Asia Pacific Index jumped 0.6% at noon in Tokyo, after dropping yesterday by the most in more than a week. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures climbed 0.1%. The S&P GSCI Index of raw materials added 0.3%, halting a three-day drop, with oil gaining 0.3% and corn rallying 1%. The won rose 0.3% versus the dollar, while the euro climbed 0.1% to $1.4298.

About five shares advanced for every two that declined on MSCI’s Asia Pacific Index, which has dropped 3.4% this month. That will be its worst monthly performance since May 2010, when the gauge sank 9.8%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average jumped 1.2%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.2% and South Korea’s Kospi index rallied 0.7%. Financial companies were largest contributors with Australian listed Westpac Banking rising 1.4%. A gauge of banks, insurers and developers on the MSCI Asia Pacific has dropped 5.9% this year.

In corporate news, China Yurun Food Group fell in Hong Kong trading, extending yesterday’s record 20% plunge, as short selling surged amid speculation Muddy Waters LLC may issue a negative report on the pork producer. Tokyo Electric Power shareholders turned up in record numbers at their first meeting since the crisis at its Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant wiped about $36 billion off the utility’s market value. The stock has plunged 85% since the earthquake.

Elsewhere, Japan’s retail sales fell at a slower pace than economists estimated in May, adding to signs that the worst of the post-disaster downturn in the world’s third-largest economy may be over. Sales slid 1.3% from a year earlier, the Trade Ministry said in Tokyo today, the smallest drop since the March 11 earthquake.  Today’s report adds to signs that the economy is recovering from the shock of an earthquake that left more than 23,000 people dead or missing. Beef-bowl chain operator Yoshinoya Holdings Co. is among retailers reporting a rebound in sales as consumer sentiment springs back from a two-year low.

In currencies, South Korea’s won climbed after the Bank of Korea said the nation’s current-account surplus widened to $2.26 billion in May, compared with a revised $1.28 billion in April. The surplus in June will likely be at a similar level, central bank director Yang Jae Ryong said. The Euro strengthened against 10 of its 16 most-actively trade counterparts. Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou called on lawmakers to obey their “patriotic conscience” and back tougher austerity measures, as they began to debate a five-year budget plan yesterday.

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As a group, City Index transacts in excess of 1.5 million trades every month in over 50 countries worldwide. We provide a wide range of instruments including forex, CFD trading and spread betting. For more information, visit http://www.cityindex.co.uk/.