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Technology Stocks : Semi Equipment Analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Gottfried who wrote (10956)	8/13/2003 2:54:38 AM
From: StanX Long	Respond to of 95738

I'm sure you'll find more value in those links then I, but, I see this pretty clear, Stan. Asia Markets: Stocks Surge, Dollar Gains 6 minutes ago By Raju Gopalakrishnan SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Asian stocks surged to a 14-month high on Wednesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve (news - web sites) kept interest rates at 45-year lows and said it would persist with easy monetary policy for "a considerable period." The dollar also pushed higher after the Fed's policy-making Federal Open Market Committee (news - web sites) (FOMC) clearly indicated it intended to stimulate more growth in the world's biggest economy and a subsequent rise in U.S. stocks. Japanese shares led the way in Asian trade, ending 1.96 percent higher at a two-week high at 9,752.75 points. Sentiment was boosted not only by the Fed but by surprisingly strong Japanese GDP (news - web sites) data on Tuesday and traders said more gains could not be ruled out. "Even though the Nikkei broke through technical resistance, it might not have enough energy to move directly to make a run at 10,000...especially since we are in the normal summer vacation lull and the GDP data was surprising but not shocking," said Kenichi Azuma, equity strategist at Cosmo Securities. Taiwan stocks rose 3.56 percent on hopes MSCI will hike Taiwan's index weightings after rules on foreign ownership were abolished, lifting demand from index funds. Stocks were up 1.7 percent in Singapore and Korea. The main index reached a 12-month high in Hong Kong and a four-year high in Thailand. Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines and Malaysia were also higher. The Morgan Stanley Capital International index of Asian stock markets ex-Japan was at its highest since early June last year, when it came off an eight-month rally which started after the market's plunge on September 11, 2001. The Dow Jones index ended one percent higher on Tuesday after the Fed left benchmark lending rates at one percent in an effort to reinvigorate the economy. The FOMC warned about the risk of inflation becoming undesirably low and said the outlook for growth remained neutral. "In these circumstances, the committee believes that policy accommodation can be maintained for a considerable period," the Fed said in a post-meeting statement that emphasized it would do its best to keep credit cheap until growth perks up. The dollar was not boosted as much by the Fed announcement as it was by the subsequent climb in U.S. stocks, traders said. "I don't think the outcome of the FOMC meeting had much impact in the forex market, while the strength in U.S. stocks played a key role in helping the dollar," said Hideaki Furumaya, head of the corporate desk at Trust and Custody Services Bank. At 1:55 a.m. EDT, the dollar was quoted at 119.00/05 yen compared with Tuesday's late U.S. level of 118.65/75. The euro stood at $1.1247/50 against Tuesday's $1.1274/80. Short-term Treasury prices bounced after the Fed left interest rates unchanged, but longer-term debt struggled as investors bet such stimulus would reinforce the recent improvement in the economy and eventually lead to stronger growth. The benchmark 10-year U.S. bond was yielding 4.42 percent in Asian trade, little changed from 4.43 in late New York but up from 4.36 percent earlier in the week. Crude oil was little changed after ending slightly lower in New York. NYMEX September crude was last at $31.99 per barrel, after settling nine cents lower at $31.92 overnight. Spot gold was trading at $357.50/8.25 an ounce at 2 a.m. EDT, down from New York's last trade of $358.60/9.10. Traders said bullion was likely to come under pressure in Asian trade as the dollar remained firm.