London View

Dollar Climbs Further Against the Yen as Abe Calls General Election, Royal Mail Hit a Rough Patch

Japanese shares shed early gains on Wednesday as investors booked profits after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delayed a tax hike and said he would call a snap election to seek a fresh mandate for his economic policies.  The Dow and S&P 500 closed at record highs on Tuesday, lifted by further gains in healthcare shares and hopes for a stronger global economy.  The Dow closed at another record high of 17687 and the S&P500 closed 10 points higher  at 2051, its biggest one day move since Nov 5th.

The Dollar rose as high as 117.42 Yen, a high last seen in 2007. The Euro also hit a six-year high of 146.99 Yen, and held firm against the dollar at $1.2524 after German analyst and investor sentiment rose unexpectedly in November for the first time in almost a year. Meanwhile, the Australian Dollar tumbled as the price of iron ore, Australia's top export earner, slipped to its lowest in five years at $72.10 a metric ton.

In commodities, U.S. crude futures slipped 0.4 percent to $74.34 per barrel, near last week's low of $73.25, having fallen more than 31%  in the last five months.

Within the equity space Royal Mail Group reported this morning and halved the expected growth rate of its UK parcels’ market to 1-2 percent due to fierce competition which helped send first-half operating profit down 21%.  The stock is down 3.5%, trading at 453p.

Lastly, British lawmakers have promulgated the need to quiz top bankers in the wake of last week's $4.3 billion deal with regulators to settle allegations of collusion and manipulation in the foreign exchange market. On Tuesday MP’s voted to give people who lease pubs from big companies more freedom about where they buy their beer, overturning government plans for industry reforms.