KTC Capital Management Reports Higher Markets Due to Easing Japan Fears

Online, March 21, 2011 (Newswire.com) - The FTSE global equity benchmark is up 1.57 per cent, and the S&P 500 is up 1.52 per cent, having over recent days recaptured half of its losses since dropping from the February 17 peak. A more positive mood in the markets is reducing the need for traditional havens such as high yield Treasuries, gold and the Swiss franc.

Growth-focused commodity currencies such as the Australian dollar are in demand as investors bet that the global economy's fundamentals are strengthening further. The Global Steel Association has lent support to this trend by announcing on Monday that global steel production rose 9 per cent in the first two months of the year, bolstered by sharp rises in Asian production.

A rally in equities point to the fact that investors place greater weight on an improving Fukushima condition than the ongoing tensions in Libya. It is worth noting, however, that many commodities have shifted into negative territory as the US session has progressed. The Japanese government will be pleased to see that the Yen has settled below the Y81 mark to the dollar following last week's G7 intervention.

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