** Kansai Electric Power Co rises 5.2 pct to 1,438yen, highest since mid-January** Co said Osaka District Court in western Japan on Fridayrejected a request for an injunction to halt two reactors atTakahama nuclear plant ** A local resident in Osaka had filed the case with thecourt last July to halt the plant's No.3 and No.4 reactors,citing dangers of missile attacks to the plant by North Korea,Ka...Read More

April 02 (BOJ Financial Markets Department) - The Bank of Japan announced the following interest rates for Japan's benchmark overnight call money. weighted average rate-0.068 percent highest rate 0.001 percent lowest rate-0.086 percent Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure ac...Read More

Billet prices in the global markets except India continued to fall during the work week from Monday March 26 to Friday March 30 due to negative sentiment caused by the uncertainty over the United States' Section 232 tariffs.Demand was sluggish in major markets such as Turkey, the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Middle East and North Africa, and Southeast Asia over the past week, and no sig...Read More

(Refiles to fix link in 2nd bullet, no change in text)** S.Korea's tourism, cosmetics sector shares shine asinvestors expected ongoing tensions with China to ease afterBeijing's special envoy's visit to Seoul ** China had shown strong opposition to Seoul's additionaldeployment of U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD)system ** Lotte Tour Development up nearly 30 pct,Seoul bourse's daily...Read More

BOJ money market operations and current account deposit (3/30)April 02 (BOJ Financial Markets Department)in billion yen 3/30 Projected Preliminary RevisedBank notes -101010Treasury funds and others 176018501850------------------------------------------------------------------------------Market balance175018601860------------------------------------------------------------------------------Subtotal...Read More

SINGAPORE, April 2 (Reuters) - Singapore's private homeprices rose 3.1 percent in the first quarter, the fastestquarterly growth in nearly eight years, data showed on Monday.The growth rate was the quickest since the second quarter of2010 when home prices rose 5.3 percent.The Urban Redevelopment Authority released detailedestimates for the change in private home prices in the firstquarter of 2018:...Read More

** Japan Display Inc drops 5.7 pct to 182 yen,lowest since mid-August, on dilution fears** Co said it would raise $518 mln through a new share issueand an asset sale, in a stop-gap measure to shore up itsfinances as it struggles to find partners for a tie-up ** As of previous close, stock had fallen 15.35 pct so farthis year** As of 00:32 GMT, about 9.35 mln shares of the Tokyo-basedcompany have b...Read More

TOKYO, April 2 (Reuters) -* The benchmark Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) rubbercontractfor September deliveryfell 1 percent, or 1.9yen, to 182.1 yen per kg by 0024 GMT, as investors took profitsafter five straight sessions of gains* Key Shanghai futures ended overnight trading 40yuanhigher at 11,575 yuan ($1,845) per tonne* Rubber inventories in warehouses monitored by the ShanghaiFutures Exchan...Read More

KUALA LUMPUR, April 2 (Reuters) - Data from the Markit Malaysia Purchasing Managers' Index for March.?EUREURReadings above 50.0 signal an improvement in business conditions while ones below indicate deterioration. DATAMARCHFEBJAN49.5 49.9 50.5 CONTEXT* Malaysia's manufacturing activity slumped to five-month lows on weak demand, as production fell for the first time in eight months and new orders c...Read More

(Repeats to fix formatting)TOKYO, April 2 (Reuters) - Japanese manufacturing activityexpanded at a slightly slower pace in March, revised data from asurvey showed on Monday, as growth in new orders and outputmoderated slightly though the economy overall remained in solidshape.The Final Markit/Nikkei Japan Manufacturing PurchasingManagers Index (PMI) fell to 53.1 in March on a seasonallyadjusted ba...Read More

SEOUL, April 2 (Reuters) - South Korea's factory activity in March contracted for the first time in three months as new orders shrank, reducing overall output, a private manufacturing survey showed on Monday.The Nikkei/Markit purchasing managers' index (PMI) on operating conditions for the manufacturing sector stood at 49.1 for March, compared with 50.3 a month earlier.The 50-point level separates...Read More

TAIPEI, April 2 (Reuters) - Data from the Nikkei/Markit Taiwan Purchasing Managers' Index for March. Readings above 50.0 signal an improvement in business conditions while readings below indicate deterioration.MarchFebruary January55.356.0 56.9CONTEXT:*The headline PMI slips to 55.3 in March, down from 56.0 in February - the slowest pace of expansion since last October.*Output growth quickened to...Read More

By Henning GloysteinSINGAPORE, April 2 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Monday,lifted by a drop in U.S. drilling activity as well as byexpectations that the United States could re-introduce sanctionsagainst Iran.U.S. WTI crude futures were at $65.18 a barrel at0025 GMT, up 24 cents, or 0.4 percent, from their previoussettlement.Brent crude futures were fetching $69.67 per barrel,up 33 cents, or 0.5...Read More

** Shares of Kumho Tire soar nearly 30 pct,Seoul stocks' daily trading limit, after workers approved theco's acquisition by Qingdao Doublestar** Kumho Tire shares hit five-week intraday highs** Broader market up 0.8 pct at 0021 GMT Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accu...Read More

* PREVIOUS TRADING SESSION MOVES:* SSEC +0.3 pct, CSI300 +0.1 pct* Stock connects closed for holiday in Hong Kong* CNY official close 6.2745 per dollar* FTSE China A50 -0.7 pct, BNY Mellon ADR China Select Index +1.8 pctSHANGHAI, April 2 (Reuters) - Following is a list of recent corporate and policyannouncements, as well as other news that might affect Chinese financial markets.Policy, government,...Read More

(Adds dropped word to opening paragraph, no other changes)* Big manufacturers' sentiment index at plus 24 vs f'cast+25* Service-sector sentiment at plus 23 vs f'cast +24* Big firms expect capex to rise 2.3 pct vs f'cast +0.6 pctBy Leika Kihara and Tetsushi KajimotoTOKYO, April 2 (Reuters) - Japanese business sentimentworsened for the first time in two years in the three months toMarch, a closely w...Read More

* CAPEX eyed at +2.3% this fiscal year and much better than +0.6% eyed.* Manufacturers optimistic here as well, most seem to see higher USD/JPY.* Small firms more realistic? CAPEX eyed at -16.8%, but better than -21%eyed.* Big mfg FY '18/19 profits eyed at -3.2% after a very good FY '17/18.* Big mfg production capacity index -1m Dec -3, all firm financial index+17.* Financial index same as in Dec,...Read More

SEOUL, April 2 (Reuters) - South Korean won's opening level was officially corrected to 1,061.0 on Monday,from erroneous deal that traded at 1,160.0."There was a deal miss at the beginning," an official toldReuters. (Reporting by Dahee KimEditing by Shri Navaratnam) Messaging: dahee.kim@thomsonreuters.com)) Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may n...Read More

* Expectations for +25 in big mfg diffusion index, big non-mfg +24.* Each a tick below expectations but still not bad, June eyed at +20 each.* Expectations for June at +22 and +21, tad lower again, Dec +26, +25.* As opposed 110.18 in December, big mfg see USD/JPY averaging 109.66.* Expectations for FY '18/19 still too optimistic?* Anecdotal evidence suggest many makers eyeing 103-105 this fiscal y...Read More

TOKYO,April 2 (Reuters) - Japan's benchmark Nikkei average opened down 0.06 percent at 21,441.57 on Monday, while the broader Topix was unchanged at 1,716.32. (Reporting by Tokyo markets team) Keywords: MARKETS JAPAN STOCKS/OPEN Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy...Read More