Japan Stock Futures Gain as Yen Weakens on BOJ Head Speculation

SYDNEY -- The yen fell and Japanese stock futures rose amid speculation Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will nominate Asian Development Bank President Haruhiko Kuroda as governor of the Bank of Japan. Gold and silver advanced. The yen dropped to 94.35 per dollar, its lowest level since May 2010. Futures on the Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 0.9 % and Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures added 0.1 %. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index added 0.4 %. Silver climbed 1.3 % to $28.7625 an ounce and gold gained 0.5 % to $1,580.45 per ounce. The pound dropped 0.4 % to $1.5110, extending declines after Moody’s Investors Service’s stripped the U.K. of its Aaa credit rating. Abe probably will present Kuroda to the Japanese Diet in the middle of this week, Kyodo news reported, citing unidentified government sources. China’s manufacturing expansion slowed in February, according to economists’ estimates ahead of a release from HSBC Holdings Plc. Italians are voting in an election with initial estimates of the result due shortly after 3 p.m. in Rome, when the second day of balloting ends. “In the coming week, the key focus will be the announcement of Prime Minister Abe’s new Bank of Japan governor nominee,” Michael Kurtz, global head of equity strategy at Nomura Holdings Inc. in Hong Kong, wrote in a report. “Whoever is appointed will have marching orders to push forward with the aggressive monetary easing already underway.” Deflation Pledge Appointing Kuroda, 68, may help Abe to follow through on his pledge to counter more than a decade of deflation, a prospect that has already driven down the yen and triggered a stock rally. Governor Masaaki Shirakawa and two deputy governors will step aside next month. Japan’s central bank has “really substantial room” for further loosening and additional measures could be justified this year, Kuroda said in a Feb. 11 interview, signaling that he may embrace stronger stimulus. U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said he won’t give in to opposition calls to change his economic policy after Moody’s decision to strip the U.K. of its Aaa status. U.S. and French gilt yields are lower than when they were downgraded over the past two years. (Bloomberg/msw)



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