Asia

Nikkei closes above 16,000 for first time in 6 years. Japan's Nikkei share average closed at a fresh six-year high on Wednesday, supported by optimism over the global economy and hopes for fresh buying by Japanese retail investors due to upcoming tax changes. The Nikkei rose 0.8 % to 16,009.99, closing above the 16,000 mark for the first time since December 2007, after stronger-than-expected U.S. economic data helped U.S. stocks finish at record highs. (Reuters)

Beijing Sets Lower Growth Goal of 7.5% for 2014. Beijing will target a lower rate of growth in 2014 than this year, potentially setting the tone for other cities and provinces as China’s economy slows and leaders seek to de-emphasize expansion at any cost. The city’s target for economic growth next year is about 7.5 %, Guo Jinlong, Beijing’s Communist Party secretary, said in remarks made at a meeting Dec. 23 and printed today in People’s Daily, published by the party. That’s a half %age point lower than the 8 % expansion goal in 2013. The change is part of efforts by President Xi Jinping to have local officials focus less on short-term economic growth and more on measures including debt levels and environmental protection. (Bloomberg)

China money rate falls It’s the biggest tumble since 2011 as central bank injects cash. China’s benchmark moneymarket rate tumbled the most since February 2011 after the central bank injected funds via open-market operations for the first time in three weeks, helping alleviate a cash crunch. The seven-day repurchase rate, a gauge of funding availability in the banking system, tumbled 344 basis points, or 3.44 %age points, to 5.4%, according to a daily fixing from the National Interbank Funding Center. It more than doubled to 8.84% in the last five days. The Shanghai Composite Index of shares gained 0.7% yesterday, after climbing 0.2% from a four-month low yesterday. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) auctioned 29 billion yuan (US$4.8bil) of seven-day reverse-repurchase agreements at a yield of 4.1% yesterday, after 300 billion yuan of targeted cash injections last week failed to hold borrowing costs down. (Bloomberg)

Indonesia to Ease Foreign Investment Caps From Airports to Power. Indonesia will ease foreign ownership restrictions in airport and power projects to lure capital as the nation grapples with a current-account deficit that’s sending the rupiah to its worst yearly drop since 2000. Foreigners may own as much as 49 % of airports and 100 % of power plants built under public-private partnerships, the investment coordinating board said in a statement in Jakarta. The government will simplify processes to boost investment after completing talks today on its revised negative-investment list, which limits overseas ownership in some industries, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Hatta Rajasa told reporters. (Bloomberg)

USA

Sales of New Homes in U.S. Exceeded Forecasts in November. Purchases of new U.S. homes exceeded projections in November, holding near a five-year high and showing the housing recovery was gaining momentum even as mortgage rates climbed. Sales declined 2.1 % to a 464,000 annualized pace, following a revised 474,000 rate in October that was the strongest since July 2008, figures from the Commerce Department showed today in Washington. The median forecast of 75 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for 440,000. (Bloomberg)

Capital Goods Demand Signals Stronger U.S. Growth. Orders for long-lasting goods such as computers and machinery climbed in November by the most in 10 months and new-home sales exceeded forecasts, showing a more broad-based U.S. economic expansion entering 2014. Bookings for non-military capital equipment excluding aircraft, a proxy for future business investment, increased 4.5 %, more than double the most-optimistic projection in a Bloomberg survey of economists, a Commerce Department report in Washington showed. Home sales eased to a 464,000 annual rate from a revised 474,000 pace in October that was the fastest since July 2008. (Bloomberg)

Currencies

Dollar creeps higher in quiet trade. The U.S. dollar edged higher Tuesday, but holiday-thinned volumes kept most major currency pairs in tight ranges. The ICE dollar index, a measure of the U.S. unit against six other currencies, edged up to 80.507 from 80.419 late Monday in North America. Moves of less than one U.S. cent were evident across the board. The euro edged down to $1.3677 from $1.3693 late Monday, while the British pound was similarly static at $1.6370 versus $1.6350. The Australian dollar traded at 89.26 U.S. cents versus 89.37 U.S. cents late Monday. The Japanese yen inched lower after Japanese stocks hit a six-year high. The dollar rose to ¥104.27 from ¥104.06 late Monday. (Market Watch)

Commodities

Oil higher on supply cuts as gasoline demand rises. Brent oil settled at a near a one-month high on Tuesday in thin pre-holiday trade as traders covered short positions amid civil unrest in Africa that curbed global supply while demand for gasoline rose. Brent oil settled up 34 cents to $111.90 a barrel after matching the Dec. 6 high of $112.06. This was the highest settlement price since Dec. 3. U.S. oil futures settled up 31 cents at $99.22 a barrel, above the 200-day moving average of $98.89. (Reuters)

Gold up before Christmas but headed for big yearly loss. Gold edged higher on Tuesday in the final session before Christmas as bargain hunters appeared after prices fell to six-month lows of around $1,200 an ounce. The spot price of bullion was up 0.3 % at $1,201.50 an ounce at 11:04 a.m. EST. Among other precious metals, silver was flat at $19.41 an ounce. Spot platinum was up 0.6 % at $1,331.24 an ounce, having fallen to its lowest since early July at $1,309.75 on Thursday. Spot palladium was down 0.4 % at $690 an ounce. (Reuters)