TOKYO, Dec 19 (Reuters) – Key TOCOM rubber futures rose for a fourth day and hit a seven-month high on Wednesday, boosted by gains in stocks, which saw the benchmark Nikkei 225 rise above the key 10,000 level for the first time since April.
FUNDAMENTALS
* The most-active Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for May delivery was trading up 0.7 yen, or 0.2 percent, at 286.4 yen per kg at 0047 GMT.
* The contract earlier rose as far as 288.5 yen, the highest for any benchmark since May. The benchmark contract has climbed about 11 percent in December.
MARKET NEWS
* The euro hovered at multi-month highs against the dollar and yen on Wednesday, having extended recent gains as tentative signs of progress in U.S. fiscal talks bolstered demand for riskier assets.
* Japan’s Nikkei average rose above the 10,000 mark for the first time since early April on Wednesday on hopes the United states would avoid the so-called fiscal cliff and on expectations of aggressive monetary policy under a new Japanese government.
* U.S. crude futures were steady near $88 a barrel on Wednesday, holding gains made over the past three days.
DATA EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Wednesday: (Time in GMT)
0900 Germany Ifo business climate Dec
0900 Germany Ifo current conditions Dec
0900 Germany Ifo expectations Dec
1330 U.S. Build permits: change mm Nov
1330 U.S. House starts mm: change Nov
1330 U.S. Housing starts number mm Nov
1530 U.S. EIA petroleum status report Weekly
(Reporting by Aaron Sheldrick; Editing by Joseph Radford)
