The yen did not show much momentum but Nikkei touched its seven year high led by technology shares. Bond prices declined mainly due to a large government auction for debt, leading yields higher.
[B][U]
Headlines:[/U]
Japan’s Export Growth Almost Doubles on Demand From China, EU:
[/B]Japan’s export growth almost doubled in May, fueled by shipments of cars and electronics to China and the European Union. Exports rose 15.1 percent from a year earlier, compared with 8.2 percent in April. Faster export growth and a recovery in spending by consumers at home will help sustain the economy’s revival. Shipments to Europe rose at the quickest pace in nine months, as yen dropped drop to a record against the Euro Exports to the U.S. rebounded too.
[I]Source: Bloomberg
[/I]Bloomberg - Are you a robot?
[B]Japan’s Government Bonds Drop; Demand Falls at 20-Year Auction:[/B]
Japanese 20-year bonds fell after demand dropped at an auction of the government debt. The Ministry of Finance’s sale of 800 billion yen ($6.5 billion) of 20-year bonds drew bids worth 3.89 times the amount sold.
Source: Bloomberg
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=a2YR74Bz.W.c&refer=japan
[B]Japan PM seen delaying elections:[/B]
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe?s coalition recently agreed to delay crucial elections by a week as it rushed to pass key legislation. Abe?s approval rating has plummeted in the past month due to a series of scandals and a government agency?s admission that it has misplaced millions of payments to the pension system.
Source: Khaleej Times
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/theworld/2007/June/theworld_June630.xml§ion=theworld&col
[B]Currency Market:
[/B]Deputy Governor Toshiro said in a speech today that BOJ will raise interest rates gradually based on steady increase of the economy. The yen traded near the weakest in more than four years versus the dollar on speculation that summer bonuses paid to Japanese this year will be invested in high yielding currencies. Yen was trading at 123.68 per dollar as 3:00am in New York.
[B]Stock Market:[/B]
The Japanese market advanced to seven-year highs despite opening the day 100 points below yesterday?s close. The Nikkei 255 finished 58.6 points higher at 18240.30. Technology shares, especially semi-conductor companies, surged as prices of chips rose. Shares of steelmaking companies climbed after a government report showed that exports of alloy to Asia jumped. Companies that greatly depend on North-American sales such as Nissan declined as US yields on bonds indicated that spending may slow.
[B]Bond Market:[/B]
Japan?s 20-year fell the most in a month as demand dropped at an auction today?s government auction. The yield on the10-year bond climbed to 1.91% from 1.89% yesterday.
