Equities
The Bank of Japan expanded its asset purchase program in an effort to encourage the economy, lifting the Nikkei and weakening the Yen. The Nikkei jumped 1.2% to 9232, and exporters rallied as the Yen fell to 79.23. Similar gains were achieved by the Hang Seng, which rose 1.2%. The Kospi edged up .2%, the ASX 200 climbed .5%, and the Shanghai Composite ticked up .4%.
Japan’s stimulus efforts lifter European markets as well. The CAC40 advanced .5%, the DAX climbed .6%, and the FTSE rose .4%.
In the US the gains were slight, despite strong housing data. The Dow added 13 points to 13578, the Nasdaq rose .2% to 3183, and the S&P 500 inched up .1% to 1461.
Groupon shares surged 13.9% after launching a mobile payment app, which will allow a mobile phone to swipe credit cards.
Social media shares continued to rally, as Facebook jumped 6.5%, Zynga climbed 4.1%, and Yelp gained 3.8%.
Treasuries and Commodities
10-year notes rose 8/32 to yield 1.78%, and 30-year notes advanced 19/32 to yield 2.97%.
Crude oil tumbled 3.5% to 91.97, and gasoline sank 2.4% to 2.8283. Natural gas edged up .1% to 2.776. Crude oil inventories unexpectedly increased by 8.5M barrels, vs. forecasts for a .2M decline.
Copper gained .5%, silver slipped .2%, and gold rose .1% to 1770.
Currencies
The Yen rose .5% to 78.36, after briefly weakening to 79.23 following the Bank of Japan’s stimulus announcement. The Euro ticked up .1% to 1.3057, while the Pound slipped .1% to 1.6222. The Australian Dollar gained .3% to 1.0487.
Economic Outlook
Existing home sales blew past estimates, climbing to 4.82M from 4.47M. Building permits eased to .8M from .81M, and housing starts increased to .75M from .73M.
Thursday’s reports will include weekly unemployment claims, the Philly Fed manufacturing index, and leading indicators. Flash manufacturing PMI data is due from China, European nations, and the US.
Earnings are due from Carmax, Cintas, Conagra, Oracle, and Rite Aid.
