Commodities Future Prices Rose in Japan Stock Decline in Australia

Japanese commodities future prices rose as speculation the Federal Reserve will take measures to stimulate the world?s largest economy while Australian stocks fell after commodities prices declined. Japanese stock futures rose amid speculation BHP Billiton Ltd., the world?s largest mining company, dropped 1.1 percent after metal prices fell yesterday. American depositary receipts of Sharp Corp., Japan?s largest maker of liquid-crystal displays, retreated 0.4 percent. Toyota Motor Corp., the world?s largest carmaker, gained 0.4 percent from the closing share price in Tokyo. Those of Honda Motor Co., Japan?s second-largest automaker, advanced 0.2 percent.

Futures on Japan?s Nikkei 225 Stock Average expiring in December closed at 9,625 in Chicago yesterday, compared with 9,575 in Singapore. They were bid in the pre-market at 9,620 in Osaka, Japan, at 8:05 a.m. local time. Australia?s S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.4 percent today. New Zealand?s NZX 50 Index gained 0.2 percent in Wellington.

?Strong U.S. earnings are expected because of the weak dollar and that?s supporting stocks,? said Kenichi Hirano, general manager and strategist at Tachibana Securities Co. ?But the trend of the currency remains unchanged, so that may drag the Japanese stocks lower.?

Futures on the Standard & Poor?s 500 Index were unchanged. In New York, the index rose less than 0.1 percent to 1,165.3 yesterday as trading volume sank to the lowest level of the year, amid growing speculation that the Federal Reserve will pump more cash into the economy to protect the recovery after payrolls declined more than expected. The Dow advanced 3.86 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 11,010.34.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index has increased 8.2 percent in 2010, compared with gains of 4.5 percent by the S&P 500 and 3.7 percent by the Stoxx Europe 600 Index. Stocks in the Asian benchmark are valued at 14.3 times estimated earnings, compared with 13.9 times for the S&P and 12.1 times for the Stoxx.

Crude oil for November delivery slipped 0.5 percent to settle at $82.21 a barrel in New York yesterday. The London Metal Exchange index of prices for six industrial metals including copper and aluminum fell 0.2 percent yesterday.

The dollar reached 81.39 yen yesterday, the lowest level since April 1995. The dollar traded at 82.15 yen as of 8:23 a.m. today, compared with 82.37 at the close of stock trading in Tokyo on Oct. 8.

In Japan, the Jasdaq exchange starts operation today. The exchange is an integration of Osaka?s Jasdaq Securities Exchange and the Hercules market.

As of 12:11 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 29.60 points, or 0.27%, to 10980.74, the Standard & Poor's 500 sank 1.61 points, or 0.14%, to 1163.71 and the Nasdaq Composite added 3.20 points, or 0.13%, to 2405.56. The FOX 50 lost 0.21 points, or 0.03%, to 836.75.

The markets were well off their lows as the Dow dropped nearly 100 points after the open before rebounding. The early caution comes after Wall Street mostly slept through Columbus Day, marking its slowest day of the entire year. The Dow moved just 52.6 points from high to low, its tightest trading range since April 12.

After receiving virtually no new economic or corporate headlines on Monday, the markets are looking ahead to the Federal Open Market Committee's meeting minutes that could show whether the central bank is likely to kick off another round of asset buying to boost the recovery. Also, tech bellwether Intel (INTC) and railroader CSX (CSX) are set to enter the earnings stage after the closing bell.

?I just think people are waiting for these FOMC minutes and waiting for these profit numbers,? said Nick Kalivas, vice president of financial research at MF Global.

Most of the Dow's 30 components headed south, led by Verizon (VZ) and Walt Disney (DIS). The index's best performers were American Express (AXP) and General Electric (GE).

The Nasdaq Composite suffered lighter selling than the broader markets as tech stocks like Google (GOOG) and Nvidia (NVDA) trade higher.

Commodities put pressure on the markets in early action, building on their Monday declines. Crude oil slid 57 cents a barrel, or 0.67%, to $82.44. Gold lost $5.70 a troy ounce, or 0.42%, to $1,348.30.

Wall Street is likely to be moved later in the day by the Fed?s September meeting minutes, especially given the markets? expectation that the central bank will initiate QE2, or a second round of quantitative easing, to breathe life into the recovery. Any hints about where the central bank stood on further asset buying at its last meeting could influence Wall Street?s easy-money hopes.

After Alcoa?s (AA) successful kickoff to earnings season last week, the markets are set to receive their next batch of corporate results after the close.

Chipmaker Intel, which is seen as a barometer for the technology industry, is expected to post EPS of 50 cents a share after the closing bell. Also, CSX, which can be a good gauge for the broader economy, is expected to say it earned $1.04 a share during the third quarter.

Corporate Movers

Pfizer (PFE) inked a $3.6 billion deal to acquire drug maker King Pharmaceuticals (KG) for $14.25 a share, a 40% premium to King?s closing price on Monday.

Apple?s (AAPL) price target was upgraded by Barclays Capital from $340 to $385. The 13% increase is based on strong demand for the tech giant?s iPad, iPhone 4, Macs and new iPods.

Global Markets

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 was down 0.45% to 5646.66, France's CAC 40 fell 0.88% to 3735.45 and Germany's DAX lost 0.22% to 6295.69.

In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 tumbled 2.1% to 9388.64, Hong Kong's Hang Seng slid 0.37% to 23121.70 and China's Shanghai Composite jumped 1.3% to 2841.41.[via:bloomberg.com]