Azernews.Az

By Bloomberg

Asian stocks rose, with the regional index headed for a two-month high, while gold fell for a third day amid speculation Greece will stay in the euro region. Chinese shares retreated after industrial profit dropped.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 0.7 percent by 2:20 p.m. in Tokyo, rising for the sixth time in seven days, as Japan’s Topix index advanced 1.5 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 2.2 percent. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures were little changed. Gold retreated 0.3 percent. Norway’s krone gained 0.2 percent from a 12-year low as oil in New York traded at $45.24 a barrel. Ruble forwards fell 2 percent after S&P cut Russia’s foreign-currency rating to junk.

European finance ministers signaled willingness to work with Greek Prime Minister-elect Alexis Tsipras as long as he drops demands for a debt writedown, a central plank of the victorious Syriza party’s election platform. Chinese industrial profits declined 8 percent in December, the most since at least 2011, data today showed.

“The Greek elections had the potential to unnerve the market,” Nader Naeimi, who helps manage about $125 billion as head of dynamic asset allocation at AMP Capital Investors in Sydney, said by phone. “It’s quite encouraging that the new government and the EU are willing to negotiate. The market is in a risk-on mode.”

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.8 percent and the Kospi index in Seoul gained 0.6 percent.

Tencent Record

A gauge of mainland companies in Hong Kong retreated 1.7 percent after the industrial profit report. The Hang Seng Index fell 0.9 percent from a four-month high. Tencent Holdings Ltd., operator of China’s largest instant messaging service and the best-performing stock on the Hang Seng Index this year, fell 2.4 percent after closing at a record yesterday.

Prada SpA, the Italian luxury-goods maker that gets more than 60 percent of its revenue outside Europe, jumped 4.5 percent in Hong Kong, the most since June. The stock was raised to overweight from neutral by HSBC Holdings Plc analyst Erwan Rambourg yesterday.

In the U.S., the S&P 500 rose for the fifth time in six days, adding 0.3 percent on Monday. Microsoft Corp. lost 4.4 percent in extended trading after reporting lower-than-expected sales of software licenses for the fiscal second quarter.

Gold dropped to $1,278.31 an ounce, declining for a third straight day. The yen climbed 0.2 percent to 118.26 per dollar and 132.94 per euro.

Stalled Talks

Tsipras, 40, has pledged to keep Greece within the euro area as he negotiates a writedown of Greek debt and eases budget constraints that were imposed in return for aid after the country’s economic collapse.

Greece’s current round of funding expires Feb. 28 and talks with the so-called troika -- the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and the European Central Bank -- for its renewal have stalled since September amid demands for further belt tightening.

“Uncertainty is likely to remain elevated until we get clear confirmation from Syriza that they will negotiate constructively with creditors,” Sharon Zollner, a senior economist in Auckland at ANZ Bank New Zealand Ltd., wrote in a client note today. “There is a giant game of chicken going on, no one wants a ‘Grexit’.”

Greek 10-year bonds fell Monday, pushing yields on the 2025 securities up 68 basis points, or 0.68 percentage point, to 9.09 percent, after the rate dropped 56 basis points on Jan. 23. The country’s benchmark equity gauge declined 3.2 percent, paring a 6.1 percent gain on Friday.

Oil, Krone

The dollar bought 7.7892 krone after Norway’s currency weakened 0.5 percent to 7.8040 per greenback yesterday, the lowest since August 2002. West Texas Intermediate crude was 0.2 percent higher today after sliding more than 5 percent over the past three trading days amid ongoing concern over the global supply glut for oil. WTI settled at $45.15 a barrel on Monday, the lowest price since March 11, 2009.

Stockpiles of crude in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil consumer, probably increased by 4.25 million barrels last week, according to a Bloomberg News survey of energy analysts before government data on Wednesday. Brent gained 0.3 percent to $48.30 in London.

The Bloomberg Russia-US Equity Index fell 5.5 percent, ending a three-day gain, while one-month forwards on the ruble retreated a second day, declining to 68.8950 a dollar. The currency slumped 7.1 percent against the greenback on Monday as S&P reduced Russia’s rating one level to BB+ with a negative outlook, putting it below investment grade for the first time in a decade.

The U.S. and the European Union also warned that Russia may face further repercussions after a rocket attack on the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol on Saturday. The U.S., NATO, and the OSCE said the attack came from rebel-held territory, while the separatists blamed Ukrainian government forces.