Asian stocks rose, led by banks and technology companies, on optimism the U.S. will widen efforts to support its finance industry and as the yen’s decline this week lifted earnings prospects for Japanese electronics makers. Mizuho Financial Group Inc., Japan’s second-largest bank, gained 1.8 percent as a U.S. Treasury official said details of a financial-recovery plan will be announced next week. Canon Inc., which gets a third of its sales from the Americas, climbed 3.7 percent in Tokyo as the yen traded near a four-week low. Lenovo Group Ltd., the world’s fourth-largest personal-computer maker, surged 9.6 percent in Hong Kong after a management reshuffle. “People here are eagerly waiting for details of the U.S.’s financial bailout,” Soichiro Monji, chief strategist at Tokyo- based Daiwa SB Investments Ltd., which manages about $53 billion, said. “The yen’s depreciation is something investors are pleased with, because the stronger local currency is one of the main reasons Japanese companies have had to cut forecasts.” The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.8 percent to 83.19 at 12:54 p.m. in Tokyo, with three stocks rising for each that fell. The gauge has fallen 7.1 percent in 2009, extending last year’s record 43 percent tumble, as the credit crisis dragged the world’s biggest economies into recession. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 1.6 percent, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 1.4 percent. All markets open for trading advanced. Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp., Japan’s largest fixed- line phone company, added 1.7 percent and Capcom Co., a video- game developer, surged 19 percent on higher earnings. Government Action Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.2 percent. The gauge added 1.6 percent yesterday as MasterCard Inc.’s profit topped estimates and an analyst said Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley are healthy enough to repay rescue funds. Stocks have fallen this year amid mounting signs the financial crisis, which has caused more than $1 trillion in credit-related losses, was hurting corporate earnings. With banks tightening lending, bankruptcies among Japan’s listed companies reached an annual postwar record last year, according to Tokyo Shoko Research Ltd. Governments around the world are stepping up efforts to ease the crisis that the International Monetary Fund predicts will cause global growth to almost grind to a halt this year. Australia’s central bank today slashed its forecasts for economic expansion and inflation. Bad Bank A U.S. Treasury official yesterday said Secretary Timothy Geithner will make a speech on Feb. 9 and President Barack Obama’s will hold a news conference that will address the stimulus package. The plan is likely to include guarantees for illiquid assets on bank balance sheets and a so-called bad bank that would buy toxic investments, people familiar with the matter have said. Mizuho Financial climbed 1.8 percent to 225 yen. Australia & New Zealand Banking Group, which today forecast first-half operating profit to rise, gained 1.1 percent to A$12.48. Canon, which is expecting 160 billion yen ($1.7 billion) in profit this year, jumped 3.7 percent to 2,530 yen as the weaker yen boosted the value of overseas sales. The company said it loses 9.1 billion yen for every 1 yen gain against the dollar. Olympus Corp., a camera maker that counts Europe as its biggest overseas market, climbed 4.2 percent to 1,500 yen. The Japanese currency is headed for a second weekly loss versus the dollar and the euro. It fell against the dollar to as much as 92.25, the weakest level since Jan. 8, from 89.28 at the close of stock trading in Tokyo yesterday. Higher Earnings Lenovo climbed 9.6 percent to HK$1.60, the biggest gain since Jan. 6. The computer maker said yesterday that Chief Executive Officer William Amelio resigned and was replaced by Chairman Yang Yuanqing, while founder Liu Chuanzhi returns as chairman. Nippon Telegraph rose 1.7 percent to 4,300 yen after saying profit in the nine months through December surged 70 percent. Capcom Co., the Japanese publisher of the “Resident Evil” movie and game series, surged 19 percent to 1,783 yen after reporting profit in the same period. Posco, Asia’s third largest steelmaker, rose 5.6 percent in Seoul to 402,500 won after India’s Business Line reported that the company is planning to build a $1 billion processing plant in India.

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