European and US equity-index futures climbed with Asian stocks after global shares capped their first quarterly decline since September, while Malaysia’s ringgit jumped. The euro retreated after Greece missed a repayment to the International Monetary Fund.
Contracts on the Euro Stoxx 50 Index added 0.3% by 7:19 a.m. in London, while Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures advanced following the index’s first three-month drop in 10 quarters. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 0.3%. The Shanghai Composite Index fell as China factory activity reports signaled a slowdown may be easing. The euro weakened to $1.1117 after gaining through June. The ringgit gained as Fitch Ratings Ltd. refrained from cutting Malaysia’s credit score, Bloomberg reported.
Greece missed a deadline for repaying $1.7 billion after last-ditch overtures to creditors were rebuffed Tuesday. Investors now await the result of a July 5 referendum on the terms of any bailout. An official gauge of Chinese manufacturing held just above the border for expansion and contraction, while a private measure from Markit Economics and HSBC Holdings Plc showed a slowdown eased in June.
Euro Forecast
The euro is trading well above the $1.06 target traders had projected for it less than three months ago. The joint currency gained 1.5% in June amid a global sovereign bond rout that saw yields on German 10-year bunds surge 28 basis points. Now, investors project the euro will buy $1.07 at the end of the third quarter, 2 cents higher than their estimate at the start of last month.
The Shanghai Composite swung to a 2.5% loss after the manufacturing gauges trailed estimates. Investors in China’s equities have been whipsawed this week, with the benchmark gauge for the nation’s biggest venue rocking though its two biggest intraday swings since 1992 on Monday and Tuesday.
The official China manufacturing purchasing managers’ index came in at 50.2 in June, matching May’s reading. The private gauge rose to 49.4 from 49.2 the month before, a second straight gain but still short of economists’ estimates for 49.6. A reading of 50 marks the line between expansion and contraction.
The Shanghai measure, which entered a bear market Monday, finished Tuesday 17 percent below its June 12 high. The gauge still added 14 percent in the three months to June 30.
Markets in Hong Kong are closed for a holiday to mark the city’s 1997 return to Chinese sovereignty. Thailand also has a holiday today.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed 1% after its biggest quarterly retreat since 2011. Asciano Ltd. jumped 17% to the highest since 2008 after receiving a proposal from Brookfield Infrastructure Group valuing the Australian rail-freight operator at A$8.8 billion ($6.8 billion).
The Topix index added 0.4% in Tokyo. Japan’s Tankan large manufacturer index rose to 15 for the second quarter, from 12 in the first, with economists predicting no change.
Brent Crude
The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index in Kuala Lumpur climbed 1.8%, poised for the biggest increase since May 2013. The ringgit strengthened 0.9% to 3.7360 a dollar and earlier climbed to a one-week high of 3.7287, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
Brent crude futures slid 1.2% in London, extending a second monthly loss in June. Production from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries accelerated last month to the highest level since August 2012 as Iraq pumped at a record.
US crude inventories expanded by 1.9 million barrels last week, the industry-funded American Petroleum Institute was said to have reported Tuesday. West Texas Intermediate oil fell 1.4% to $58.62 a barrel in New York.
