Small gains in Asian stocks as Bank of Japan move on trading bands boosts yen, while dollar drop sees spike in spot gold prices
A woman walks past an electric board showing the Nikkei index outside a brokerage at a business district in Tokyo, Japan, on December 20. Picture: REUTERS/KIM KHUNG-HOON
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.6%. Japan's Nikkei was down 0.2%, paring earlier losses of around 1%. Gold miners in Australia led a 1.3% jump for the S&P/ASX 200.On Tuesday the Bank of Japan widened its trading band for 10-year government bond yields from 25 basis points either side of zero to 50 bps.
The resultant drop for the US dollar has spot gold prices testing six-month peaks and gold miners riding high. Newcrest rose 6% in Sydney and smaller names even more. Global miners BHP and Rio Tinto rose 2%.“The tone is good, we're having our little version of a Santa Claus rally,” said Damian Rooney, a dealer at Argonaut Securities in Perth, referring to typical late-December gains as markets drift towards the year end.
Some of the major drivers of dollar gains — an ever weaker yen, a struggling Chinese yuan and outsize rises in US yields — are starting to shift. The euro held at $1.0625, not far from last week's six-month high.
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