Yen Rises After Japanese Stocks Advance on Outlook for Economy
May 19 (Bloomberg) -- The yen had its biggest gain against the dollar
in seven weeks in London trading as Japanese stocks surged, driven by
expectations an economic recovery in the world's second-biggest economy is
picking up.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average had its biggest two-day gain since July
after a government report yesterday showed the economy grew more than
expected in the first quarter. Global money managers said for a second month
Japan has the best prospects for earnings, a Merrill Lynch & Co. survey
showed.

``With the economy surprising on the upside, it will renew interest in
Japanese shares from overseas investors,'' said Junya Tanase, a currency
analyst in Tokyo at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. ``We see the yen's long-term
trend as up.''

Against the dollar, the yen strengthened to 113.15 at 7:20 a.m. in
London from 114.28 yen late yesterday in New York, according to EBS, an
electronic foreign-exchange dealing system. The yen climbed to 135.80 per
euro from 136.60. It may rise to 98 to the dollar by the end of the year,
Tanase said.

J.P. Morgan yesterday changed its forecast for Japan's economic growth
this year to 4.4 percent from 3.8 percent to take into account the
faster-than-expected expansion in the first quarter. Japan's economy grew by
2.7 percent in 2003.

The Nikkei closed 2.4 percent higher and has risen 4.4 percent since
Monday's close, its biggest two-day gain since the period ended July 2.

`Increasingly Encouraging'

Japan's May economic report may say employment is improving, Nikkei
English News reported, without saying where it got its information. The
Cabinet Office will release the report on Friday. The world's second-biggest
economy grew at a 5.6 percent pace in the first three months of the year,
more than the 3.8 percent median forecast of 26 economists surveyed by
Bloomberg News.

``Japanese data are increasingly encouraging,'' said Allison
Montgomery, currency strategist in Sydney at Westpac Banking Corp. ``As long
as equities continue to get a boost, it's positive for the yen.''

Some 36 percent of investors polled in the Merrill survey said they
planned to have their Japanese stock holdings exceed the percentage
recommended by the benchmarks they use to gauge performance over the next 12
months, with about 30 percent saying Japan was ``undervalued.''

Adding Support

The dollar's slide against the yen may stall on speculation a report
tomorrow will say the number of Americans filing initial applications for
jobless benefits declined last week. The Labor Department will probably say
first-time claims fell to 325,000 from 331,000 the week before, based on the
median of 39 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey.

``A good initial jobless number will add more support for the view
that the U.S. will raise interest rates soon, encouraging dollar buying''
said Tsutomu Soma, a trader of currencies and derivatives at Okasan
Securities Co. in Tokyo. The dollar may rise toward $1.18 per euro in a
week, he said.

Against the dollar, the euro traded at $1.1996 from $1.1952.

The yen has risen against the euro since yesterday as investor
confidence in Germany dropped for a fifth month, suggesting European growth
will lag expansions in the U.S. and Japan.

The Mannheim, Germany-based ZEW Center for European Economic Research
said its index of institutional investor and analyst sentiment dropped to
46.4 in May from 49.7 in April. The median forecast of economists polled by
Bloomberg News was for a decline to 49.

``The euro zone is still far behind Japan and the U.S.,'' said
Hideyuki Tsukamoto, foreign exchange manager in Tokyo at Mizuho Bank Ltd., a
unit of Japan's biggest lender by assets. ``Investment in Japan and the U.S.
looks more attractive than that in Europe, leading investors to put money
back, especially into Japan, which supports the yen and pressures the
euro.''

The euro may fall below 125 yen by the end of September, Tsukamoto
said.

In other trading, the British pound was at $1.7713 from $1.7678 late
yesterday in New York. The dollar traded at 1.2813 Swiss francs from 1.2834.



To contact the reporter on this story:
John Brinsley in Tokyo at
or jbrinsley@bloomberg.net;
Yumi Kuramitsu in Hong Kong at
or ykuramitsu@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible this story:
Walter Krumholz at wkrumholz@bloomberg.net;
Dan Moss at
or dmoss@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: May 19, 2004 02:25 EDT

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1127 S&P500 fut. entro venerdì..............


Let's go!

Ciao OrsoToro,
pensi che il ns derivato abbia spazi di salita, nonostante gli scarsi
volumi del pullback di ieri?

Io sarei propenso ad andare a chiudere il gap a 27310, ma i volumi mi pare
non ci siano....

"OBIUan" <imprigionato@libero.it_NOSPAM> ha scritto nel messaggio
news:RxDqc.61437$Qc.2500916@twister1.libero.it...
> Ciao OrsoToro,
> pensi che il ns derivato abbia spazi di salita, nonostante gli scarsi
> volumi del pullback di ieri?

Ieri è stata una giornata transitoria........viziata dalle badnews dei
giorni precedenti........


> Io sarei propenso ad andare a chiudere il gap a 27310, ma i volumi mi pare
> non ci siano....

Io credo che i 27150 siano il primo obiettivo.....superato il quale i 27300
verrano inghiottiti in un nonnulla.......

I volumi dovrebbero entrare oltre i 27150 visto che aumentarono intorno a
quella soglia durante l'ultimo affondo per proseguire a spron battuto verso
la prima resistenza importante....27900.....


JMHO

> I volumi dovrebbero entrare oltre i 27150 visto che aumentarono intorno a
> quella soglia durante l'ultimo affondo per proseguire a spron battuto
verso
> la prima resistenza importante....27900.....
>
>
> JMHO


Sarebbe musica per le mie orecchie :-) .... e aggiungo una scrollatina di
maroni :-)
Ciaoo!