By Chua Kong Ho and Chan Tien Hin Dec. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks rose for a fourth day on speculation a U.S. automaker bailout and government stimulus plans will boost the global economy. Honda Motor Co. and Hyundai Motor Co. surged more than 9 percent as lawmakers agreed on the outlines of a $15 billion rescue for General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC. BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s largest mining company, added 7 percent as oil and copper gained. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. jumped 9 percent in Tokyo after a measure of shipping costs advanced. An increase in Australian consumer confidence drove Westfield Group, the Sydney- based shopping mall operator, 4.2 percent higher. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 2.1 percent to 86.26 as of 1:58 p.m. in Tokyo. The measure has gained 15 percent since Nov. 20, when it reached a five-year low, as governments from Australia to the U.S. announced measures to combat the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. “There’s a lot of hope that all these stimulus plans will help revive growth to a large extent,” said Raymond Tang, who oversees $5.8 billion as chief investment officer at CIMB- Principal Asset Management Bhd. If U.S. carmakers fail “that’s a risk to the economy and will have huge knock-on effects in Asia overall,” Tang said. MSCI’s Asian index is down 45 percent this year, taking its valuation to 12.1 times estimated profit, about a third lower than at the start of 2008. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average advanced 2.6 percent to 8,617.38. Tokyu Land Corp., a developer with properties in western Tokyo, rallied after the Nikkei newspaper said the government may provide credit to struggling developers. Hyundai paced gains in South Korea, where the Kospi Index climbed 4 percent, Asia’s biggest advance. All other benchmark indexes increased apart from New Zealand and China. U.S. Carmakers Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.6 percent after Congressional Democrats and White House negotiators agreed on the outlines of the $15 billion plan to give GM and Chrysler federal loans to stay in business while requiring them to restructure their operations. GM and Chrysler have said they need at least $14 billion in combined aid to keep from running out of cash by early next year. “That’s the best result we wanted to hear,” said Choi Dae Sik, a Seoul-based analyst at HI Investment & Securities Co. The collapse of U.S. carmakers could cause “a catastrophe in the real economy and in auto demand,” the analyst said. International trade will shrink in 2009 for the first time in more than 25 years as economic growth slows and commodity prices slide, the World Bank said. Global growth will slow to 0.9 percent, or the weakest rate since records began in 1970, the institution said. Honda, Hyundai Honda Motor rose 9.2 percent to 2,015 yen. Hyundai Motor, South Korea’s largest automaker, gained 11 percent to 47,800 won. Averting a collapse would also help protect suppliers that serve Asian carmakers. BHP, the world’s largest mining company and Australia’s biggest oil producer, gained 7 percent to A$30.44. Cnooc Ltd., China’s largest offshore oil explorer, added 6.7 percent to HK$7.05. Crude oil rose 1.8 percent to $42.84, as traders bought contracts to close out bets that prices will fall and on signs that OPEC will cut production twice in as many months. Copper climbed 0.7 percent on the London Metal Exchange to $3,223 a metric ton yesterday. Santos Ltd., Australia’s third-biggest oil and gas producer, added 5.3 percent to A$13.58, after saying it is in talks about a settlement of its liability for a mudflow disaster in Indonesia. Mitsui O.S.K. soared 9 percent to 543 yen. The Baltic Dry Index rose 1.2 percent yesterday on increased purchases of iron ore to make steel. Daiwa Institute of Research also reiterated its “outperform” rating on the shipping line. Rising Confidence In Australia, an index of consumer sentiment jumped 7.5 percent in December, the second-straight gain, a Westpac Banking Corp. survey showed, while the number of loans granted to build or buy homes rose in October for the first time in nine months. Westfield, which derived half its sales last year from Australia and New Zealand, advanced 4.2 percent to A$13.59. Woolworths Ltd., a supermarket and discount store operator, climbed 2 percent to A$27.15. Households are benefiting after the Australian central bank slashed its benchmark rate by three percentage points since September and the government handed out A$10.4 billion ($6.8 billion) to stoke spending. In Japan, Toyku Land gained 18 percent to 322 yen, the biggest percentage gainer on MSCI’s Asian gauge. The government may give loans of up to 2 billion yen ($22 million) to small and midsize developers that have been unable to refinance through banks, the Nikkei newspaper reported. Tokyo Tatemono Co., Japan Prime Realty Investment Corp., Japan Retail Fund Investment Corp. and Nomura Real Estate Office Fund Inc. soared more than 13 percent. Sony, Nippon Glass Sony Corp., the world’s second-largest consumer electronics maker, lost 2.7 percent after saying it will cut 16,000 jobs due to a bigger-than-expected deterioration of the economy. Nippon Glass Co., the world’s third-largest supplier of glass for liquid crystal displays, declined 3.5 percent to 475 yen. The company said it expects operating profit to plunge as much as 65 percent for the October to December period. Te deepening global recession drove Japanese machinery orders down 4.4 percent in October from September, a report today showed, more than economists surveyed by Bloomberg News predicted. Westpac, Australia’s second-largest bank, dropped 8.3 percent after it sold A$2.5 billion ($1.6 billion) in stock at an 11 percent discount to bolster capital. Commonwealth Bank of Australia sank 2.6 percent after saying it will sell up to A$750 million in stock to Merrill Lynch & Co. to shore up capital. To contact the reporter for this story: Chua Kong Ho in Shanghai at kchua6@bloomberg.net; Chan Tien Hin in Kuala Lumpur thchan@bloomberg.net

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