The MSCI Asia Pacific regional index yesterday erased its year-to-date gain; today, even if fears relating to Syria persist, the markets have partially retraced the heavy loss of the day before, and in the early afternoon the index marks a +0,6%. Also helping is the positive close on Wall Street, which saw a rally in oil companies following the rise in oil prices. If Wall Street has to choose between rising profits from Exxon and others on the one hand, and consumer suffering at gas stations on the other, it always chooses the former over the latter.
A slight depreciation of the yen (to 97,6) was enough to comfort the Tokyo stock exchange (+0,7). In the currency field, the euro is stable – above 1,33 – while oil has retreated from the highs of the last 36 hours and 109,3 for the WTI (115,7 for Brent). Gold has not maintained its recent highs and falls slightly to 1411 $/ounce. Futures on London and Wall Street are stable, awaiting decisions on Syria and US GDP data for the second quarter (second reading for GDP but first reading for corporate profits).
Attachments: Bloomberg – Asian Stocks Rise From 2-Month Low as Oil Explorers Gain
