Dollar, shares up in Asia on relief at North Korea inaction

SYDNEY: The US dollar won a reprieve from risk aversion yesterday after North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un decided to hold a party over the weekend rather than launch another missile, tempering safe havens such as the yen and Treasuries.

Investors remained cautious over the possible economic impact of Hurricane Irma as it chewed its way up the Florida coast, knocking out electricity to 3 million homes and businesses statewide.

Japan’s Nikkei rose 1.4 per cent after Pyongyang held a massive celebration to congratulate the nuclear scientists and technicians who steered the country’s sixth and largest nuclear test a week earlier.

The United States and its allies had been bracing for another long-range missile launch to mark for the 69th anniversary of North Korea’s founding on Saturday.

The sense of relief was enough to lift E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 by 0.5 per cent, while yields on 10-year Treasury notes rose 3 basis points to 2.09 per cent.

South Korea’s main index added 0.8 per cent, while MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.4 per cent.

“It’s too early to say the risks are gone, but one thing for sure is that market players now think the situation won’t get worse as it did some weeks ago,” said Lee Kyung-min, a stock analyst at Daishin Securities in Seoul.

Lee added that many foreign investors and domestic institutions are purchasing South Korean tech and chemicals shares as quarterly earning season nears.

The US dollar hovered at 108.42 yen, up from Friday’s 10month trough of 107.32.

Against a basket of currencies, the dollar added 0.15 per cent to 91.490 but that was still uncomfortably close to last week’s 2-1/2 year low of 91.011.

The euro eased to US$1.2017, having hit a top of US$1.2092 on Friday amid speculation the European Central Bank was closer to starting a wind-back of its stimulus programme.

ECB officials last week generally agreed their next move would be to cut their bond purchases and discussed a range of options, Reuters reported.

China’s central bank was also a focus in Asia after sources said it plans to scrap reserve requirements for financial institutions settling foreign exchange forward yuan positions with effect from Monday.

“The removal potentially makes it easier for traders to purchase the USD, easing the pressure for yuan appreciation,” said analysts at ANZ in a note. — Reuters