Australian Shares and Japan Stock Futures Higher on Stimulus Bets

Japanese stock futures and Australian equities rose as investors speculated that so-called quantitative easing measures from central banks across the world will stimulate economic growth.

American Depositary Receipts of Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s largest carmaker, soared 5.7 percent as the yen weakened against the dollar since the close of Japan’s equity markets yesterday. ADRs of Canon Inc., a camera maker that gets 80 percent of sales outside Japan, advanced 4.8 percent. BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s biggest mining company, climbed 1.8 percent in Sydney, leading gains among firms with earnings closely tied to economic growth.

Futures on Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average (NKY) expiring in June closed at 13,015 in Chicago yesterday, up from 12,720 at the close in Osaka, Japan. They were bid in the pre-market at 13,000 in Osaka at 8:05 a.m. local time. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index (AS51) advanced 0.2 percent and New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index fell 0.2 percent. Markets in Hong Kong reopen today while China and Taiwan remain closed for holidays.

Bloomberg

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