World markets mostly higher, yen hits Japan stocks

[August 09, 2010]  BANGKOK (AP) -- World stock markets mostly rose Monday, shrugging off weak U.S. jobs figures as a sign of a slow economic recovery rather than a lurch back into recession.

The Labour Department report showing that private employers in the world's biggest economy hired only 71,000 workers in July was disappointing but not bad enough to reactivate the recession fears that unnerved markets in the past two months. Unemployment remained stuck at 9.5 percent.

Asian markets flitted in and out of the red as investors fretted that anemic growth in the U.S. will hurt demand for the region's cars, consumer electronics, textiles and other exports. But most indexes ended the day in positive territory.

European markets posted stronger gains than Asian stocks in early trading amid news that German exports rose 3.8 percent in June from May, bolstering expectations that Europe's biggest economy grew strongly in the second quarter.

Appetite for riskier assets like stocks, particularly in emerging markets, is set to rise as worries about the European and the U.S. economies ease, said Woori Investment & Securities economist Sun Yoo.

"In June and July concerns over a possible global economic recession, especially in the US, surged, but those concerns appear to have faded recently," Yoo said in a report Monday. "We expect gradual economic recovery momentum to continue in the US," he said.

In Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 was up 1.5 percent at 5,414.47, France's CAC-40 gained 1.6 percent to 3,774.30 and Germany's DAX added 1.2 percent to 6,337.18. Futures pointed to modest gains on Wall Street with Dow futures up 18 points, or 0.2 percent, at 10,631.

Earlier in Asia, the yen approaching a 15-year high against the dollar hit shares of Japanese exporters as a strong yen makes their products less competitive in overseas markets. The Nikkei 225 stock average lost 69.63 points, or 0.7 percent, to 9,572.49.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.6 percent to 21,801.59 and the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.5 percent to 2,672.53. South Korea's Kospi gained 0.4 percent to 1,790.17 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.6 percent to 4,594.90.

Also among the advancers were markets in India, Taiwan, Indonesia and New Zealand. Benchmarks in Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand fell. Singapore's market was closed for a public holiday.

In the U.S. on Friday, the jobs report sent investors out of stocks and the dollar and into assets perceived as being safer. Foreign currencies and gold rose, as did bond prices, which sent interest rates lower.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 21.42 points, or 0.2 percent, at 10,653.56, having been down as much as 160 points. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 4.17, or 0.4 percent, to 1,121.64, while the Nasdaq composite index fell 4.59, or 0.2 percent, to 2,288.47.

In currencies the dollar rose to 85.57 yen from 85.01 yen in New York late Friday. The euro rose $1.3287 from $1.3279.

Benchmark crude for September delivery was up 56 cents at $81.25 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1.31 Friday to settle at $80.70.

[Associated Press]

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