Tokyo Share Up 0.18% by close

Kontak Perkasa - AFP (16/10)-- Tokyo shares rose 0.18 percent by the close Wednesday as investors closely monitored Washington's budget deadlock ahead of a crucial deadline for raising the debt ceiling. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index shrugged off earlier losses to add 25.60 points to 14,467.14, while the Topix index of all first-section shares ended flat, slipping 0.06 percent, or 0.69 points, to 1,196.78. The Nikkei see-sawed in and out of positive territory for much of the day with early gains driven by hopes for some sort of resolution after intense partisan bickering in the United States. But the latest efforts to end the two-week US budget impasse fell apart late Tuesday. The Republican leadership failed to muster enough support for its own plans to avert default, with just over a day to raise the debt ceiling by the October 17 deadline. Fitch ratings agency said it may downgrade Washington's AAA credit rating. And the US Treasury has warned that if Congress does not lift the $17.6 trillion debt ceiling by Thursday, it will lose its ability to borrow and could run out of cash to pay all its obligations. 'It is hard to take any positions until the debt issue is resolved,' Daiwa Securities chief strategist Junya Naruse told Dow Jones Newswires. The Tokyo market won some support from a stronger dollar which bought 98.50 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade, up from 98.16 yen in New York Tuesday afternoon. A weakening yen is seen as positive for Japanese exporters. SoftBank added 2.20 percent to 7,400 yen, one day after the mobile carrier and Japan's GungHo Entertainment spent $1.5 billion on buying 51 percent of Finnish game firm Supercell, maker of the blockbuster online strategy game 'Clash of Clans'. A report Wednesday said SoftBank was also in the final stages of talks to buy a majority stake in wireless device distributor Brightstar for more than 100 billion yen. In response, SoftBank said the matter is 'under discussion' but that 'nothing has been decided at this point'. Japan Tobacco fell 1.98 percent to 3,450 yen after the mass-selling Yomiuri Shimbun reported the company may hike cigarette prices by as much as 20 yen a pack, a move likely to weigh on consumer demand. Copier maker Canon slipped 0.16 percent to 3,110 yen, Takeda Pharmaceuticals was up 0.42 percent to 4,705 yen, while cosmetics giant Shiseido rose 1.15 percent to 1,746 yen.

Written by: Kontak Perkasa Futures

PT.Kontak Perkasa Futures, Updated at: 3:09 PM

European Stocks Drop as U.S. Nears Debt-Ceiling Deadline

Kontak Perkasa - Bloomberg (16/10) --  European stocks declined from their highest level in almost four weeks as U.S. lawmakers continued to discuss raising the federal government’s debt limit. U.S. index futures gained, while Asian shares fluctuated. Danone slid 4.4 percent after posting the slowest sales growth in 16 quarters and lowering its full-year forecast. LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA dropped 5.6 percent as the world’s largest luxury-goods company reported revenue for the third quarter that fell short of estimates. The Stoxx 600 retreated 0.4 percent to 313.48 at 8:06 a.m. in London after yesterday rising to its highest level since Sept. 19. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures gained 0.3 percent, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index slipped 0.1 percent. “The deadline is looming and still no deal to resolve the U.S. fiscal deadlock,” Ian Williams, a market strategist at Peel Hunt LLP in London, wrote in a note to clients. “Markets are growing jumpy again, not helped by Fitch placing its U.S. credit rating on negative watch.” House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner, a Republican, made a last-minute attempt to influence the outcome of the fiscal showdown with a proposal that would extend government funding through Dec. 15, rather than Jan. 15 as the Senate plans. With the U.S. borrowing authority due to lapse tomorrow, Fitch Ratings put the world’s biggest economy on watch for a possible credit downgrade, citing lawmakers’ inability to reach a deal. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have restarted negotiations to find a solution that would reopen the government and prevent a default. “Senator Reid and Senator McConnell have re-engaged in negotiations and are optimistic that an agreement is within reach,” a spokesman for Reid said in a statement. They had suspended their talks, while they waited for the House to act on Boehner’s plan.

Written by: Kontak Perkasa Futures

PT.Kontak Perkasa Futures, Updated at: 3:07 PM

Gold Drops as Last-Minute Deal Is Seen Ending U.S. Debt Wrangle

Kontak Perkasa - Bloomberg (16/10) --  Gold fell for the first time in three days amid expectations that U.S. lawmakers will reach an agreement to lift the debt ceiling before the government’s borrowing authority lapses tomorrow. Bullion for immediate delivery lost as much as 0.6 percent to $1,274.51 an ounce and was at $1,279.84 at 11:37 a.m. in Singapore. Prices dropped to $1,251.85 yesterday, the lowest level since July 10, before closing 0.8 percent higher as the negotiations stalled. Gold for December traded 0.5 percent higher at $1,279 an ounce on the Comex in New York. Senate leaders resumed talks aimed at avoiding a default and ending the government shutdown after the House of Representatives scrapped a vote on a plan that would have kept the government open through Dec. 15 and suspended the debt limit until Feb. 7, 2014. Fitch Ratings put the U.S. on watch for a possible credit downgrade, citing lawmakers’ inability to forge a deal even as it expects the debt ceiling to be raised. “History suggests that politicians will pull back from the abyss,” Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney, wrote in an e-mailed note today. “Investors appear content to take a wait-and-see attitude to this situation.” The U.S. will begin missing promised payments between Oct. 22 and Oct. 31, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The government shutdown, which began Oct. 1, may have already hurt the recovery. Data yesterday showed the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s general economic index fell to a five-month low in October. Gold lost 24 percent this year, set for the first annual drop since 2000, on speculation the Fed will slow its $85 billion-a-month of debt buying as the economy improves. Spot silver lost as much as 1 percent to $21.1567 an ounce and last traded at $21.285. Prices dropped to $20.5088 yesterday, the lowest since Aug. 9, before rallying 0.5 percent. Platinum rose and fell at least 0.3 percent, before trading little changed at $1,386.15 an ounce. Palladium fluctuated between gains and losses, and traded little changed at $707.75 an ounce.

Written by: Kontak Perkasa Futures

PT.Kontak Perkasa Futures, Updated at: 11:50 AM

China Stock-Index Futures Fall Amid JPMorgan Cut, U.S. Talks

Kontak Perkasa - Bloomberg (16/10) --  China’s stock-index futures fell after JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Chinese equities to underweight. Futures on the CSI 300 Index (SHSZ300) expiring in October slipped 0.1 percent to 2,456 as of 9:21 a.m. local time. Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co., a milk producer, may be active after China tightened regulations on imported baby formula. Kweichow Moutai Co. may rise after third-quarter net income increased. The Shanghai Composite Index (SHCOMP) slipped 0.2 percent to 2,233.41 yesterday, while the CSI 300 Index fell 0.2 percent to 2,467.52. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index gained 0.9 percent as Hong Kong’s markets re-opened after a holiday. The Bloomberg China-US Equity Index fell 0.7 percent. The Shanghai Composite has climbed 15 percent from its four-year low on June 27, boosted by speculation the city’s free-trade zone will attract foreign companies and allow for financial liberalization. The Shanghai Equity Exchange called a report from Shanghai Great Wisdom’s AAStocks.com that the exchange was studying an international stock board at the free-trade zone a “serious misrepresentation of the truth,” according to a statement on the bourse’s website today. The Shanghai index trades at 8.8 times projected earnings for the next 12 months, compared with the five-year average of 12.6, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Trading volumes in the stocks measure were 0.2 percent below the 30-day average yesterday. The government is scheduled to publish third-quarter gross domestic product data on Oct. 18. The economy probably expanded 7.8 percent from a year earlier, according to a Bloomberg survey, up from the second quarter’s 7.5 percent pace.

Written by: Kontak Perkasa Futures

PT.Kontak Perkasa Futures, Updated at: 10:25 AM

Dollar Gains Versus Yen as Senate Restarts Talks on Debt Impasse

Kontak Perkasa - Bloomberg (16/10) --  The dollar rose versus the yen for the first time in three days after Senate leaders resumed talks to avoid a U.S. default and reopen the government, damping demand for Japan’s haven assets.

The yen dropped against all major peers as Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures and Asian stocks gained with the Senate discussions representing the clearest path to a deal. Any agreement would need to clear hurdles including persuading House Speaker John Boehner to allow a vote. New Zealand’s currency rose for a fourth day as faster-than-expected inflation boosted chances the central bank will raise its key interest rate.

“The way the market is trading is, small selloffs on bad news and big rallies on positive news,” said Sean Callow, a senior currency strategist at Westpac Banking Corp. in Sydney. “I’d want to know whether Boehner will present any bill agreed on in the Senate for a vote in the House. That’s what we really need for a real relief rally.”

The dollar rose 0.4 percent to 98.52 yen as of 9:42 a.m. in Tokyo after a 0.4 percent slide in the previous two days. It was little changed at $1.3511 per euro after climbing 0.3 percent yesterday. New Zealand’s currency rose 0.1 percent to 83.93 U.S. cents. The euro gained 0.3 percent to 133.11 yen.

The Bloomberg U.S. Dollar Index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against 10 major peers, was little changed at 1,012.92.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, had suspended talks earlier while the House considered its own bill. They must now reach a final agreement, get all 100 senators to permit an expedited vote and persuade Boehner to allow a vote in the House that would pass largely with Democratic support.

The Treasury Department will have about $30 billion on hand after Oct. 17. Depending upon daily tax receipts and incoming bills, the U.S. government could be forced to default on its obligations at any date thereafter -- to bondholders and millions of Social Security recipients.

Written by: Kontak Perkasa Futures

PT.Kontak Perkasa Futures, Updated at: 9:44 AM

Tokyo Stock Up 0.18% by Break

Kontak Perkasa - AFP (10/10) -- Tokyo stocks rose 0.81 percent Thursday morning as the yen weakened and the White House moved to convene meetings with leading members of Congress to end a budget stand-off. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index climbed 113.14 points to 14, 150.98 by the break, while the Topix index of all first-section shares was up 0.75 percent, or 8.72 points, at 1,175.62. President Barack Obama on Wednesday invited Republican and Democratic lawmakers to the White House to try to work through budget disagreements that have resulted in the partial shutdown of the government. The impasse threatens to cause a debt default if the two sides fail to raise the borrowing limit by and October 17 deadline. On currency markets, the dollar was supported by Obama's formal nomination of fiscal dove Janet Yellen to become the next head of the Federal Reserve. The dollar rose to 97.62 yen from 97.37 yen in New York Wednesday. A weaker yen tends to lift the Japanese stock market as it helps boost profitability among the country's major exporters. Data Thursday showed Japanese machinery orders -- a key indicator of corporate capital spending -- rose 5.4 percent on-month in August, beating expectations. Consumer confidence figures are due later Thursday. On Wall Street the S&P 500 and Dow were slightly higher, but a sell-off in tech stocks sent the Nasdaq lower, following a two percent plunge on Tuesday.

Written by: Kontak Perkasa Futures

PT.Kontak Perkasa Futures, Updated at: 11:09 AM

Gold drops close to $1,300 on stronger dollar, stimulus worries

Kontak Perkasa - Reuters, (10/10), Singapore - Gold dropped close to $1,300 an ounce on Wednesday, as the dollar bounced from an eight-month low and on signs the Federal Reserve may trim its stimulus measures this year. Spot gold had fallen 0.24 percent to $1,303.44 an ounce by 0014 GMT, after losing around 1 percent the session before. The Fed's shock decision last month not to reduce its support for the U.S. economy was a 'relatively close call' for policymakers, according to minutes of the meeting that also showed there was still broad support to trim bond-buying this year. Bullion's safe-haven appeal dimmed as President Barack Obama launched a series of White House meetings with lawmakers on Wednesday to search for a way to end a government shutdown and raise the debt limit. Gold sales under the Central Bank Gold Agreement in the year to Sept. 26 were the lowest of any year since the first version of the pact came into force in 1999, data from the World Gold Council showed. Domestic gold traders in India, struggling for supplies in the peak festival season, may start getting the metal in the next two weeks under a new import rule, where exporters get a priority on shipments, officials at importing banks said. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/10/markets-precious-idUSL4N0I001K20131010

Written by: Kontak Perkasa Futures

PT.Kontak Perkasa Futures, Updated at: 9:36 AM