Asia dips as weak results halt bull run on Wall Street, yen holds gains

Asian stocks dipped early on Friday after weak corporate results halted Wall Street’s record run overnight, while the yen held to large gains made after the Bank of Japan’s governor downplayed the need for “helicopter money” monetary policies. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was down 0.1 percent but is still headed for a 0.4 percent gain on the week. South Korea’s Kospi .KS11 lost 0.4 percent and Australian shares dropped 0.2 percent. Japan’s Nikkei .N225 slid 1 percent, dragged down by the yen’s rally on Thursday. The index was still poised to rise 0.9 percent this week, during which it touched an eight-week high thanks to an initially weaker yen and fiscal and monetary stimulus hopes. The dollar stood little changed at 105.84 yen JPY= after coming off its peak of 107.49, its highest in six weeks, the previous day. According to a BBC interview, recorded mid-June but broadcast on Thursday, BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda ruled out the idea of using “helicopter money” – or directly underwriting the budget deficit – to combat deflation. “It seems the BOJ are not in a position to conduct ‘Helicopter Money’, or what could also be known as money-financed fiscal programs,” wrote Chris Weston, chief market strategist at IG in Melbourne. “The fact we’ve only seen a modest recovery in the USD/JPY pair suggests traders see very little appetite for this uber unconventional policy change.” The euro was steady at $1.1025 EUR=. The common currency had briefly risen to $1.1060 on Thursday after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi’s comments indicated less support for future policy easing than previously expected. As widely anticipated, the ECB stood pat on monetary policy on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI on Thursday snapped a nine-day winning streak, during which it hit consecutive record highs, due to disappointing results from Intel and key transportation companies. [.N] In commodities, crude remained on the back foot after tumbling about two percent overnight as data pointed to record U.S. stockpiles of gasoline and other oil products, heightening supply glut concerns. [O/R] US crude CLc1 was down 0.2 percent at $44.67 a barrel, poised for a 2.7 percent fall this week in which they touched a two-month low. Spot gold XAU= edged up 0.1 percent to $1,332.00 an ounce. The precious metal had gained more than 1 percent overnight, pulling away from a three-week low, thanks to a pullback by the dollar. The dollar index was down 0.3 percent at 96.852 .DXY, nudged further away from a four-month peak of 97.323 scaled on Wednesday. Source: The Himalayan Times