RUBBER-Tokyo futures hit 2-wk high on weak yen, strong shares

Tokyo rubber futures climbed to a two-week high on Thursday, as theyen weakened towards a key level and after U.S. stocks closed at record highs, bolstering the outlook for demand. 

FUNDAMENTALS

* The benchmark Tokyo Commodity Exchange rubber contract for September delivery was up 3.7 yen, or 1.3 percent, at 279.4 yen per kg at 0009 GMT.

* The benchmark contract earlier rose to 280.8 yen, the highest since March 28. On Wednesday, the contract edged down 0.2 yen, marking its first fall in three sessions.

* China imported 230,000 tonnes of natural rubber in March, up 21.1 percent from a year earlier, data showed on Wednesday.

* India's 2012/13 natural rubber imports grew 1.3 percent on the year to a record high of 216,642 tonnes as tyre makers raised imports in the first half of the year ended on March 31 to cash in on lower overseas prices, the state-run Rubber Board said.

* India's annual car sales fell for the first time in a decade in the financial year just ended and are expected to post subdued growth this year, calling into question bullish expectations that fuelled billion-dollar bets from global manufacturers.

* German premium auto maker Daimler said it might cut its 2013 profit expectations this month, as Europe's car market shrank at an alarming rate.

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MARKET NEWS

* The dollar came within a hair's breadth of 100 yen early in Asia on Thursday with the Japanese currency seeing little respite in selling pressure after the Bank of Japan reiterated its resolve to pull the economy out of a deflationary funk.

* Japan's Nikkei share average rose to its highest level since July 2008 on Thursday. U.S. stocks climbed 1 percent on Wednesday, with both the Dow and S&P 500 ending at historic highs.

* Brent crude oil prices fell on Wednesday, dragged down by a steep sell-off in U.S. gasoline futures after a U.S. government report showed an unexpected build in domestic gasoline inventories.