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Sydney - European shares climbed with Asian equities after Chinese data showed some parts of the nation’s economy strengthening. The dollar retreated against high-yielding currencies and crude resumed its descent.
Europe’s regional equity gauge gained after closing higher on Tuesday following a day of fluctuations.
Increases in Australian and Japanese stocks drove the advance in Asian shares, which slid to a four-week low last session as investors braced for higher US interest rates as soon as December.
Currencies from Australia to New Zealand and Malaysia strengthened to pare back some of the greenback’s gain since last week’s US payrolls data. Metals retreated with oil.
China’s industrial production and investment growth slowed further in October, while retail sales defied the weakness, rising more than economists had forecast.
Last quarter, global markets were at their most volatile in four years with concern over the impact globally of a slowdown in China sparked by the country’s surprise currency devaluation and equity rout. The annual online shopping event that is Singles Day in China may also give traders a reading on consumer demand there.
“Investors remain concerned about China,” said Chihiro Ohta, general manager of investment information at SMBC Nikko Securities in Tokyo.
“There are some warning signs of technical overheating in Japan markets, so it’s likely the buying fever will cool today and stocks won’t move much.”
Stocks
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.3% by 10:05. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.2%, rallying from its lowest close since October 14. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed 0.5%, rising for the first day this week, and Japan’s Topix index added 0.4%. New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 Index gained 0.2%.
The Kospi index in Seoul was little changed after earlier slipping as much as 0.7%. Taiwan’s benchmark dropped 1.4%. Credit Suisse said iPhone component orders from Apple were recently down as much as 10%, sparking a 3.2% drop in the Cupertino, California-based company’s shares Tuesday.
Chipmakers comprise more than 20% of the Taiex gauge.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index slid 0.2% while the Hang Seng China Enterprises gauge, which tracks mainland Chinese equities listed in the city, retreated 0.7%. The Shanghai Composite Index, which entered a bull market last week, climbed 0.3%.
Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures were unchanged after the US benchmark ended Tuesday up 0.2% following a day of fluctuations.
Bonds
Australian government bonds advanced after Treasuries rose on Tuesday for the first time this month. Yields on Australian notes due in a decade declined two basis points to 2.87%. Those on 10-year New Zealand notes fell four basis points to 3.52%.
The US sold $52bn of four-week bills on Tuesday in the biggest regularly scheduled offering on record.
Currencies
The yen climbed 0.1% to ¥123.02/$. The euro rose 0.2% to $1.0740 after sliding as much as 0.7% last session to its lowest price since April 23.
Emerging-market currencies in Asia built on some gains from Tuesday, with the Thai baht strengthening 0.2%. The Malaysian ringgit advanced 0.3% after trading was closed onTuesday for a holiday.
The Australian dollar appreciated 0.4% to 70.60 US cents after touching its lowest level since October 2 in the wake of Friday’s US jobs data, while the kiwi surged 0.5% to 65.62 USc. Both commodity-dependent countries count China among their biggest trading partners.
China’s retail sales climbed 11% in October, the strongest level this year and exceeding the 10.9% median of economists’ estimates. Industrial production rose 5.6% from a year earlier, the National Statistics Bureau said on Wednesday, below the 5.8% forecast.
Data on Tuesday showed a pullback in Chinese consumer inflation and the 44th straight monthly drop in producer prices.
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 1.1% to $43.72 a barrel, erasing last session’s 0.8% advance.
US oil inventories increased by 6.3 million barrels through November 6, the American Petroleum Institute was said to have reported late on Tuesday.
Government data on Thursday is forecast to show supplies rose by 1.3 million barrels, according to a Bloomberg survey of analysts. OPEC is considering raising its official production target to take into account new member Indonesia, according to two delegates from the group.
Aluminum slipped 0.9% to $1 494 per metric ton on the London Metals Exchange, on track for a third day of declines. Zinc was down 2.2% at $1 572, sliding for a sixth session and extending a slump that’s taken it to the lowest levels since 2009. China is the world’s biggest consumer of industrial metals.
