Yet another historical record on the New York market has reverberated on the Asian markets. The Nikkei is heading towards its highest closing since December 2007, before the crisis, with the yen remaining at competitive levels (over 102, above the 100 against the dollar fervently desired by Japanese producers). The MSCI Asia Pacific index is up 0,7%, and its year-to-date gain – around 10% – is solid if not stellar (America's S&P 500 is up 27% and Japan's Topix up 45%). %).
On the data front, these have generally been positive. New US jobless claims, released yesterday (early, as today is Thanksgiving in the US and markets are closed) fell more-than-expected, and the Michigan consumer confidence index was revised sharply to up on the November preliminary figure.
The euro is still strong, at 1,358 against the dollar and the price of oil is around 92 $/b (WTI, with Brent over 111). The differential between WTI and Brent is close to 20 dollars, driven by the high production of shale crude oil in the USA which raises stocks and by the problems in Libya which lead to lower supply on international markets.
