Housing starts were released at 3.0% compared to 0.6% the previous period. Construction Orders came out at 0.5% less than the 7.5% the prior period. Looking ahead, the Jobless Rate report will be released at 23.30 GMT latter today; it is expected to come out at 4.4%.
Japanese stocks rose for the second consecutive day with the Nikkei 225 gaining 0.06% to finish at 11,584.01. The Topix index was up .72 points to end the day at 1172.0. Automakers improved for the 2nd straight day as oil continues to drop. Toyota was up 1.0% to end at 3,960 Yen. Takefuji rose 8.7 per cent to 7,500 Yen on an announcement that Takefuji will almost double its dividends for the period. Fanuc rose 0.3 per cent to 7,050 Yen. Fanuc produces industrial robots; it recently rescinded a provision to allow the number of shares to double as a takeover provision.
As the Japanese index quarter nears its end, Japanese bonds rose in value for the 4th straight quarter. Yields have dropped 15.5 basis points this quarter. Yields on ten-year JGBs due on June 2015 were down 1.5 basis points to end at 1.165%. Ten-year JGBs advanced 0.135 points to finish at 101.204 for the night.
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