* Markets expect new round of central bank action
* Asian stocks jump after U.S. gains
* Dollar falls as investors anticipate Fed easing steps
* Gold at new record, silver hits 30-year peak
(Repeats to additional subscribers)
By Alex Richardson
SINGAPORE, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Stocks, metals and Japanese
government debt rose on Wednesday and the dollar fell after
fresh monetary easing moves by the Bank of Japan spurred
expectations of a new round of central bank action to boost
ailing economies.
Tuesday's unexpectedly bold action by the BOJ -- which cut
interest rates close to zero and said it would pump cash into
the financial system through asset purchases -- was seen as the
first salvo in a reflationary splurge by policymakers in Japan,
the United States and Britain.
Global markets are now preoccupied with the likelihood that
the Federal Reserve will make a new sortie into "quantitive
easing" -- effectively printing money to buy assets -- next
month, an expectation that pushed the dollar down broadly.
The weakening dollar drove traditional safe haven gold to
the latest in a series of record highs and silver to a 30-year
peak, while hopes that monetary stimulus while boost industrial
demand sent copper to its highest level in more than two years.
But ultra-low interest rates and monetary easing in the
rich world has ignited fears of "beggar-thy-neighbour" currency
wars, with International Monetary Fund chief Dominique
Strauss-Kahn warning that countries risk undermining the global
recovery if they use their currencies to try and boost domestic
growth.
"There is clearly the idea beginning to circulate that
currencies can be used as a policy weapon," Strauss-Kahn said
in comments published in the Financial Times on Wednesday.
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Trade weighted exchange rates:
http://r.reuters.com/qun86p
Global interest rates:
http://link.reuters.com/wed86p
BOJ policy rate:
http://link.reuters.com/syz76p
Yen - taking on the market:
http://r.reuters.com/fac44p
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The BOJ's decision to buy a broad range of assets,
including real estate investment trusts and exchange traded
funds, lifted the Nikkei share average <> 1.3 percent,
although a strong yen -- now not far from the level that
prompted the authorities to intervene to weaken it last month
-- capped gains. []
"The most important focus seems to have been aimed at
currencies but the yen hasn't weakened against the dollar, and
that's keeping a lid on further stock gains," said Mitsushige
Akino, chief fund manager at Ichiyoshi Investment Management
Co.
"Rather, the yen is staying on the strong side due to
expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve might announce a
larger-scale easing."
Hopes of further stimulus from the Fed pushed U.S. stocks
to a near 5-month high on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 <.SPX> up
2.1 percent, and the exuberance continued in Asia. []
MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> rose 1.4 percent, led by the materials and
energy sectors <.MIAPJMT00PUS> <.MIAPJEN00PUS>.
"Commodities are all looking pretty fabulous at the moment.
Everyone's happy," said Martin Angel, a dealer at Patersons
Securities in resource-rich Australia, where the benchmark
index <> rose 1.5 percent. []
Spot gold <XAU=> hit a new record at $1,344.10 an ounce and
silver <XAG=> touched a 30-year peak at $20.95 an ounce. London
Metal Exchange three-month copper <CMCU3> rose to $8,244 a
tonne, its highest since July 2008. [] []
But oil slipped back from a 5-month high after an industry
report showed U.S. crude stockpiles jumped more than expected
last week. U.S. crude futures <CLc1> fell 28 cents to $82.54 a
barrel. []
The dollar stood at 83.15 yen <JPY=>, well down from its
post-BOJ high of 83.99 and less than half a yen away from its
15-year low of 82.87 yen set in mid-September shortly before
Japan stepped in to weaken a currency whose strength was
hammering the export sector on which its economy is built.
"The low of 15 September has become an important support
level. A successful move lower could well trigger a new wave of
yen buying as the market search for the next line in the sand,"
said Matthew Strauss, a senior FX strategist RBC Capital
Markets, in a client note.
The euro was steady at $1.3825 <EUR=>, having hit an
8-month high of $1.3860 on Tuesday helped by buying by Asian
central banks, traders said. []
Benchmark 10-year Japanese Government Bond <2JGBv1> futures
rose 0.43 point to 144.10, climbing above 144.00 for the first
time since June 2003. The benchmark 10-year yield
<JP10YTN=JBTC> slid 6.5 basis points to 0.845 percent, the
lowest in 7 years. []
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