GLOBAL MARKETS-Jump in gold, oil weigh on Asian share markets
By Ken Wills
SINGAPORE, April 17 (Reuters) - Gold climbed more than $6 an
ounce to its highest level in 25 years, and oil rose to within a
dollar of its record as investors fretted on Monday about
inflaton and mounting tension over Iran's nuclear ambitions.
The surge in commodities and energy prices helped to push the
biggest Asian share markets lower. Japanese banks and electronics
firms, such as Tokyo Electron Ltd. <8035.T>, contributed to the
declines ahead of earnings reports from top U.S. technology and
financial companies later in the week.
The dollar eased, while crude oil <CLc1> gained, briefly
hitting $70 a barrel and holding to within a dollar of the
all-time high of $70.85 set on Aug. 30. Oil last traded at
$69.86, up 54 cents.
"The drama over Iran's face-off with the West, the rise of
insurgency in Nigeria and gasoline supply concerns in the U.S.
ahead of the driving season are keeping a high floor under oil,"
said Victor Shum at consultancy Purvin & Gertz in Singapore.
Fund managers and other investors shifted money into gold,
often considered a hedge against inflation, lifting it to a
25-year high of $606.10 an ounce. Dealers cited tensions over
Iran's nuclear ambitions and high oil prices as catalysts for the
buying.
A U.S. think tank said over the weekend that Iran has
expanded its uranium conversion facilities and reinforced an
enrichment plant. Days earlier, The New Yorker magazine reported
that Washington was exploring the option of using tactical
nuclear weapons to knock out Iran's underground sites.
FINANCIAL STOCKS STUMBLE
In Tokyo, the benchmark Nikkei average <.N225> closed down
1.35 percent, with investors punishing companies such as shipping
firm Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. <9107.T> that are expected to
show disappointing profits.
Banks and other financial firms were among the hardest hit.
Shares of the country's biggest consumer lending firm, Aiful
Corp. <8515.T>, fell 6.8 percent in a second declining session
after regulators punished it for coercive loan collection
methods.
South Korea's main index <.KS11> touched an all-time high of
1,436.65 but closed down 0.7 percent.
Shares of Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. <005930.KS> fell 1.07
percent after top brokerages downgraded their forecasts for the
world's biggest maker of memory chips but predicted a turnaround
in earnings by the second half of the year. [nSEO346616]
LG Electronics Inc. <066570.KS> fell 1.66 percent ahead of
its quarterly results on Wednesday.
Bucking the downward trend, Singapore's index <.STI> added
0.2 percent and Taiwan's benchmark index <.TWII> gained 0.68
percent to a new 25-month closing high at 7,000.09. Those gains
helped lift MSCI's index of non-Japan Asian shares <.MSCIAPJ> 0.7
percent.
Chinese President Hu Jintao sparked hopes of improved
economic ties by calling for talks between China and Taiwan "as
soon as possible".
Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand were closed for a
holiday and will reopen on Tuesday.
U.S. DOLLAR LOWER
The U.S. dollar edged lower in thin trade, with dealers
citing an article in the Wall Street Journal suggesting Federal
Reserve officials are not convinced they need to keep raising
interest rates beyond an expected move in May.
The Fed has lifted rates 15 straight times to 4.75 percent
and is widely expected to bump rates up to 5 percent at its next
policy meeting in May.
The dollar traded near 118.24 yen <JPY=> from around 118.70
in Tokyo trade on Friday, while the euro rose to around $1.2180
<EUR=> from near $1.2110.
At 0607 GMT, gold <XAU=> was trading at $605.80/606.60,
compared with Friday's late Asia level of around $599.30. Both
London and New York markets were closed on Friday.
Investors will get a snapshot of U.S. inflation in March,
with the U.S. Producer Price Index due on Tuesday and the U.S.
Consumer Price Index on Wednesday. On the U.S. earnings calendar, companies scheduled to report
this week include Intel Corp. <INTC.O>, Apple Computer Inc.
<AAPL.O>, Google Inc. <GOOG.O>, Yahoo Inc. <YHOO.O>, Citigroup
Inc. <C.N> and JPMorgan Chase & Co. <JPM.N>.
17Apr06 06:55 GMT
Symbols:
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de;GGQS de;INL de;KLI de;KLIF de;KLIX de;TKY de;TKYF de;TKYS de;TKYX
de;TRV de;TRVF de;TRVS de;TRVX de;YHO gb;ACP gb;CGP gb;GGE gb;ICO gb;TKY
gb;YAH hk;4335 hk;HSI jp;8035 jp;8515 jp;9107 jp;N225 jp;N300 jp;NIKI
jp;NIKO kr;KSPI mx;AAPL mx;GOOG mx;YHOO pe;YHOO sg;STII tw;IXTA us;AAPL
us;AIFL us;C us;GOOG us;INTC us;JPM us;KAKK us;VAA us;VNL us;YHOO
Source RTRS Reuters News
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