Japan shares jump as yen bows to strong dollar

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Asian shares followed Wall Street higher on Wednesday as a bullish outlook from the head of the U.S. central bank buoyed the dollar, lifted Tokyo shares to a one-month top and sent gold to a one-year trough.

Japan’s Nikkei .N225 leapt out of the blocks with a 1 percent gain as a weakening yen promised to fatten exporters’ profits.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS added 0.16 percent and South Korea’s market .KS11 0.85 percent.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell stuck with an upbeat assessment on the U.S. economy while downplaying the impact of global trade risks on the outlook for rate rises.

“The outlook is consistent with two further quarter point rate increases this year, likely in September and December,” said Barclays economist Michael Gaspen.

“The main risk is that individuals, business, and financial markets have underestimated the desire of Trump to re-orient trade flows and that further steps to implement tariffs will lead to a reduction in confidence, a slowdown in hiring, and a correction in equity markets,” he added.

BofA Merrill Lynch’s latest fund manager survey showed a trade war remained the biggest risk cited by no less than 60 percent of respondents.

For now, U.S. companies seem to be profiting mightily from tax cuts as the earnings season shifts into high gear. Analysts now see second-quarter S&P 500 earnings growth of 21.2 percent, up from 20.7 percent on July 1.

Of the 39 companies in the index that have reported so far, 84.6 percent have come in ahead of Street expectations. The Dow .DJI ended Tuesday up 0.22 percent, while the S&P 500 .SPX gained 0.40 percent and the Nasdaq .IXIC 0.63 percent.

POUND IN PERIL

Powell’s support for more rate hikes sent two-year Treasury yields US2YT=RR to the highest in nearly a decade and lifted the dollar broadly.

Against a basket of currencies, the dollar was up at 95.045 .DXY, after jumping 0.46 percent overnight. It also climbed to its highest since January against the yen at 113.07 JPY=.

The euro was stuck at $1.1655 EUR=, after weakening 0.4 percent on Tuesday.

The pound suffered another bout of Brexit jitters after British Prime Minister Theresa May only just cleared the latest parliamentary hurdle to her leaving plans.

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney warned a no-deal Brexit would have “big” economic consequences and force a review of plans to raise interest rates.

Sterling was last huddled at $1.3104 BP=D3, after sliding 0.9 percent overnight.

The rising U.S. dollar coupled with the prospect of higher U.S. interest rates spelt trouble for gold, which crashed through major chart support to hit a one-year low.

Spot gold XAU= was 1.1 percent lower at $1,226.91 per ounce, having cratered at $1,225.58. The slightly less precious metal is down more than 5 percent for the year.

Oil prices also eased early on Wednesday, with Brent LCOc1 off 53 cents at $71.63 a barrel. U.S. crude CLc1 was quoted down 31 cents at $67.77 a barrel.