Asian stocks rallied from a five- year low, as declines in the yen boosted Japanese automakers and assurances about the health of U.S. banks drove financial companies higher. Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s No. 1 automaker, climbed 3.9 percent as the yen’s drop to the lowest level in three months bolstered the value of overseas sales. HSBC Holdings Plc, which gets a quarter of its revenue in North America, gained 2 percent in Hong Kong as Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair said large U.S. banks have enough capital. Goodman Group, Australia’s biggest industrial real estate investment trust, slumped 18 percent after reporting a first-half loss. “Investors are looking for relief anywhere,” said Hugh Dive, who helps manage about $3 billion at Investors Mutual Ltd. in Sydney. “There’s more confidence today than earlier this week, but I’m overwhelmed by the fact that so many companies don’t know where things are going. This rally is unlikely to be sustained.” The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 1.2 percent to 75.26 at 2:26 p.m. in Tokyo, narrowing its decline this year to 16 percent. The gauge pared an earlier climb of 1.7 percent as government reports showed Japan’s exports plunged by almost half in January and Hong Kong’s economy shrank in the fourth quarter by the most since 1999. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 1.6 percent to 7,386.83, with most markets in Asia advancing. China’s Shanghai Composite Index dropped 2.3 percent, led by property companies, after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said developers don’t expect a housing recovery in the first half of the year. ‘Reasonable Prospect’ WorleyParsons Ltd., Australia’s biggest engineering company, climbed 9.6 percent on a surge in first-half profit. Japan’s Advantest Corp. and South Korea’s Samsung Techwin Co. rallied more than 4 percent after brokers recommended investors buy their shares. Futures on the U.S. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index dropped 0.5 percent. The gauge jumped 4 percent in New York yesterday, the most in a month, as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke suggested banks need not be nationalized, adding that there was a “reasonable prospect” the recession will end this year. MSCI’s Asian index fell 17 percent this year through yesterday to close at its lowest since August 2003, as the deepening global recession hurt corporate profits. Stock declines in 2009 have wiped at least $4 trillion off the value of global stocks. HSBC, Europe’s largest bank, gained 2 percent to HK$54.70 in Hong Kong. Hang Seng Bank Ltd., controlled by HSBC, climbed 2.1 percent to HK$85.35. The FDIC’s Bair told CBS Television yesterday that large U.S. banks have adequate regulatory capital and it would be “surprising” if the government was forced to nationalize them. Nikkei Valuations Toyota rose 3.9 percent to 3,210 yen. Honda Motor Co., which gets half its sales in North America, jumped 7.9 percent to 2,390 yen. Canon Inc., the world’s largest camera maker, climbed 5.5 percent to 2,485 yen. The Japanese currency depreciated against the dollar to as much as 96.93 late yesterday, the lowest level since Nov. 25, from 95.32 at the 3 p.m. close of stock trading in Tokyo yesterday. The yen dropped against the euro to as much as 124.76, the weakest since Jan. 9. A weaker yen boosts the value of overseas sales for Japanese companies when converted into the local currency. The Nikkei lost 18 percent this year through yesterday, on mounting concern a stronger yen and waning demand will hurt company earnings. The gauge’s constituents traded at 0.85 times their corporate net worth as of Feb. 24, the lowest level on record that dates back to July 1989, according to Nikkei Inc. Buy Recommendations “The current currency level is far weaker than Japanese businesses are expecting and this will help ease pressure on company earnings,” Hiroichi Nishi, an equities manager at Tokyo-based Nikko Cordial Securities Inc., said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “All indicators suggest stocks have been oversold.” Advantest, the world’s biggest maker of memory-chip testers, rose surged 4.7 percent to 1,417 yen. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded the stock to “overweight” from “underweight,” citing proposed restructuring measures. Samsung Techwin, which makes semiconductor parts and mobile phone cameras, advanced 4.3 percent to 31,550 won after Merrill Lynch & Co. reiterated its “buy” rating, citing the benefits of a weaker currency. WorleyParsons climbed 9.6 percent to A$14.68 after saying first-half profit rose 29 percent on acquisitions and greater demand from energy industries. Goodman Group plunged 18 percent to 24.5 cents. The company said today it is slashing more than A$1.5 billion ($1.2 billion) in projects to improve margins after property writedowns pushed the company into a first-half loss of A$465.9 million.

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