Asian stocks rallied from a seven- week low and U.S. futures rose on optimism lenders will weather the credit crisis as governments expand efforts to revive global economic growth. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. surged 8.5 percent in Tokyo after Japan proposed allowing a state-owned bank to buy stakes in companies short on cash and Barclays Plc said it won’t need government funding. Commonwealth Bank of Australia added 2.8 percent as the government pledged money for a commercial property fund. BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s biggest mining company, rallied 6.7 percent after metal prices jumped. “Thanks to once-in-a-century measures from governments worldwide, the global economy will likely be better next year than this year,” said Yoshinori Nagano, a senior strategist at Tokyo-based Daiwa Asset Management Co., which oversees the equivalent of $96 billion. “The market is starting to reflect that possible recovery.” The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 3.7 percent to 83.02 at 2:38 p.m. in Tokyo, with 14 stocks advancing for each one that declined. The gauge is down 7.2 percent this year, extending 2008’s record 43 percent tumble, as the credit crisis dragged the world’s biggest economies into recession. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average surged 5.6 percent to 8,115.15, the biggest gain since Nov. 10. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index added 3 percent. Markets in Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam are closed today for holidays. Toyota Motor Corp., which gets more than a third of its sales in North America, jumped 8.4 percent on better-than- expected U.S. economic data. Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd., Japan’s third-largest shipping line, climbed after shipping rates rose for a fifth day. Hitachi Chemical Co. was the MSCI measure’s worst performer after the company cut its full-year forecast. Financial Turmoil Futures on the U.S. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 1.2 percent. The gauge drifted yesterday between gains and losses before finishing up 0.6 percent. Stock declines in the past year have cut the average valuation of companies on the MSCI Asia Pacific by two-fifths in the past year to about 10 times reported profit. The turmoil in financial markets prompted spending packages and interest-rate cuts worldwide to stimulate global growth. Under the stake-purchase program proposed by Japan’s Trade Ministry today, the Development Bank of Japan will buy preferred and common shares in companies by using funds raised by the bank. The government will guarantee the investments should the companies go bankrupt, it said. Mounting Losses Bank of Japan policy board members will focus on lowering longer-term borrowing costs for companies after cutting the overnight rate to 0.l percent in December, meeting minutes also released today show. An index of financial shares on the MSCI Asia Pacific climbed 3.8 percent. The measure is the worst performing of 10 industry groups this year as losses from the credit crisis swelled to more than $1 trillion. Mitsubishi UFJ, Japan’s biggest bank, gained 8.5 percent to 497 yen. Mizuho Financial Group Inc., Japan’s second-largest, gained 9.2 percent to 225 yen. Commonwealth Bank, Australia’s No. 1 mortgage lender, rose 2.8 percent to A$24.74, as the rate banks charge for three-month loans fell the most since Jan. 16. Macquarie Group Ltd., the country’s largest investment bank, added 2.9 percent to A$25.25. The government pledged A$4 billion ($2.7 billion) in lending for commercial property companies in case foreign banks don’t roll over business loans. A separate National Australia Bank Ltd. survey showed business confidence rose in December from a record low as a government stimulus package and interest- rate cuts buoyed consumer spending. Commodities Prices Macquarie CountryWide Trust, a real estate investment trust, soared 23 percent to 27 Australian cents after saying it will sell U.S. assets for $427 million to repay debt. Asian financial stocks also rallied after the UK’s Barclays Plc said it won’t need government funding because revenue increased last year. Barclays stock soared 73 percent in London, almost erasing its tumble in the previous nine days. BHP Billiton rose 6.7 percent to A$29.30 in Sydney, and Rio Tinto Group, the world’s third-biggest mining company, surged 11 percent to A$42.19, as U.S. data yesterday boosted commodities prices. A gauge of six metals in London climbed 5.5 percent yesterday while copper in New York surged 7.8 percent. The U.S. Conference Board leading indicators index, which points to the direction of the economy in the next three to six months, rose 0.3 percent versus the 0.2 percent drop estimated by economists in a Bloomberg survey. Sales of existing homes in the U.S. climbed 6.5 percent last month, whereas economists had expected a decline. Baltic Dry Toyota, the world’s largest automaker, jumped 8.4 percent to 2,985 yen. Honda Motor Co., Japan’s second-largest carmaker, climbed 9.6 percent to 2,130 yen. Kawasaki Kisen soared 11 percent to 383 yen after the Baltic Dry index rose 1.5 percent to 995 yesterday. The gain in the index typically means shipping companies are able to charge customers more. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd., the Japan’s second- biggest, shipping line, gained 7.6 percent to 593 yen. Hitachi Chemical tumbled 7.6 percent to 896 yen. The company expects to break even for the year ending March 31, amid lower demand from makers of chips and cars. It had earlier forecast a profit for the year.

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