TOKYO – The yen weakened against most of its counterparts and emerging-market shares climbed for a second day on expectations for continued Federal Reserve stimulus. European stocks and U.S. equity-index futures were little changed, while yields on 10-year Treasuries advanced.

Japan’s currency fell 0.4 percent to 100.39 per dollar at 10:51 a.m. in London today after earlier reaching the weakest since Sept. 11. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index gained 1.2 percent. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose less than 0.1 percent and Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures added 0.1 percent. The 10-year Treasury yield appreciated two basis points. U.K. natural-gas prices jumped to a seven-month high and gold dropped 0.4 percent.

An economic report in the U.S. later today may show that industrial output growth slowed in October. Janet Yellen, the nominee for chairman of the Federal Reserve, signaled during her Senate confirmation hearing yesterday that she’ll maintain record monetary stimulus until the economy is stronger. China may release details of its economic policy plans as early as next week, according to Morgan Stanley.

“It’s generally a more risk-on environment,” said Kiran Kowshik, a foreign-exchange strategist at BNP Paribas SA in London. “That’s why you’re seeing the yen weakening. Yellen’s testimony has sparked a risk-on move.”

Japan’s currency weakened 0.1 percent to 134.93 per euro, after reaching 135.05, the least this month. The U.S. currency was little changed at $1.3444 per euro, set for a 0.6 percent weekly decline.

Yen Decline

The yen slumped 1.4 percent this week, the worst performer among 10 developed-nation currencies tracked by Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Indexes. The dollar rose 0.1 percent and the euro gained 0.7 percent.
Yields on 10-year Treasuries rose two basis points to 2.71 percent.

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of mainland companies listed in Hong Kong (HSCEI) rose 3 percent, bringing the two-day gain to 4.2 percent, amid optimism for detailed economic policy changes in the nation. The Shanghai Composite Index jumped 1.7 percent, the most in more than a month.

Samsung Electronics Co. led gains in the broader emerging-markets measure, driving technology shares up the most since Oct. 18. The world’s largest maker of handsets plans to release a Galaxy smartphone next year with a three-sided display that wraps around the edges, two people familiar with the plans said yesterday. The stock rose 2.7 percent in Seoul, the most since August.

Domestic Product

Hungary’s BUX Index rose for a second day, gaining as much as 0.9 percent, after Economy Minister Mihaly Varga told state-run Duna television yesterday that fourth-quarter economic growth may exceed 2 percent. Gross domestic product accelerated more than economists forecast in the three months through Sept. 30, data showed yesterday.

Poland’s benchmark WIG30 Index rallied 1.4 percent, set for the first weekly gain in three, led by technology, financial and basic-material companies. The zloty appreciated 0.1 percent per euro.

Yellen said during her hearing that it’s important that policy makers do not remove support for the U.S. economy too soon given the limited range of tools available to the Fed, which has to promote a “very strong recovery.”

Fed Stimulus

The Federal Open Market Committee probably will wait to taper its bond buying to $70 billion at its March 18-19 meeting from the current pace of $85 billion a month, according to the median estimate of 32 economists in a Bloomberg survey Nov. 8.

U.S. data today may show that industrial production cooled in October, reflecting a pause in manufacturing during the 16-day partial shutdown of the federal government. Output rose 0.2 percent last month after gaining 0.6 percent in September, economists forecast before the Fed releases the data at 9:15 a.m. in Washington.

Manufacturing in the New York region grew at a faster pace in November after slowing for three consecutive months, according to the median economist projection. The Fed Bank of New York’s index probably rose to 5, rebounding from a five-month low. Positive readings signal expansion in New York, northern New Jersey and southern Connecticut.

Dredging Company

The Stoxx 600 Index gained 15 percent this year and reached a five-year high on Nov. 11. Vivendi SA (VIV) gained 3.8 percent today after the Paris-based company said it will spin off its French phone carrier SFR by July 2014 and posted third-quarter adjusted profit that beat analysts’ estimates. Royal Boskalis Westminster NV jumped 3.9 percent after the world’s largest dredging company increased its 2013 profit forecast.

Safran SA (SAF) slipped 3.7 percent after the French government, its biggest shareholder, sold a 4.7 percent stake in the manufacturer. Julius Baer Group Ltd., Switzerland’s third-largest wealth manager, dropped 1.8 percent after saying gross margins dropped at the end of October.

The increase in S&P 500 futures indicated the equity gauge may extend its all-time high. The index climbed 0.5 percent to 1,790.62 yesterday. The S&P 500 surged 26 percent this year, headed for its biggest annual gain in a decade.
Exxon Mobil Corp. increased 1.8 percent in early New York trading after Berkshire Hathaway Inc. reported a stake in the oil company valued at about $3.7 billion, the largest new holding since Warren Buffett’s company adding International Business Machines Corp. in 2011.

Goldman Sachs

Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of New York Mellon Corp. had their senior holding company ratings lowered one level by Moody’s Investors Service, which decided the U.S. government would be less likely to help them repay creditors in a crisis.

The yield on Morgan Stanley’s 4.1 percent subordinated notes due in May 2023 fell 26 basis points to 4.52 percent, while the yield on JPMorgan’s 3.375 percent subordinated notes due May 2023 slipped 10 basis points to 4.3 percent. The yield on Goldman Sachs’s 5.95 percent subordinated bonds due January 2027 rose one basis point to 5.4 percent. There was little trading in notes of Bank of New York Mellon.

Yields on downgraded bonds typically rise after a rating reduction to account for the perceived deterioration of the issuer’s creditworthiness.

U.K. day-ahead natural-gas prices jumped as much as 2.4 percent to 70.25 pence a therm, the highest price since April 11, according to broker data compiled by Bloomberg. Temperatures may average 1.9 degrees Celsius (35.4 degrees Fahrenheit) next week, compared with a seasonal average of 6.9 degrees Celsius, according to MetraWeather. Gold dropped to $1,282.67 an ounce and silver fell 0.7 percent to $20.6385 an ounce.

– BLOOMBERG