Most Asian stocks rose, following the MSCI Asia Pacific Index’s biggest weekly drop in more than a month, amid takeover news in Australia and as a weaker yen boosted the outlook for Japan’s exporters. Chinese banks dropped. Centennial Coal Co. surged 33 percent in Sydney after Banpu Pcl agreed to buy the 80 percent of Centennial it doesn’t already own. Sony Corp., the maker of PlayStation gaming consoles and Bravia televisions, rose 1.3 percent as the yen weakened against the euro. Bank of China Ltd., the nation’s No. 3 lender, dropped 1.8 percent in Hong Kong after announcing a rights offer to replenish capital. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.2 percent to 111.88 as of 2:42 p.m. in Tokyo. The gauge has fallen 13 percent from its high this year on April 15 on concern Europe’s debt crisis and Chinese steps to curb property prices will hurt global growth. Companies in the measure trade at an average 13.6 times estimated profit, the lowest level since December 2008. “Different sentiments among investors are colliding with each other,” said Kiyoshi Ishigane, a strategist in Tokyo at Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co., which oversees about $65 billion. “Stocks are relatively undervalued. Although there is uncertainty in being long on equities, some investors are giving it a go.” Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 0.6 percent. Acom Co. led a surge in consumer lenders after the Mainichi newspaper reported the Osaka government will seek to start a business zone with looser lending rules than national laws. Weak U.S. Data China’s Shanghai Composite Index sank 0.5 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.2 percent as a Chinese services industry index slid to a 15-month low in June, adding to signs that the world’s third-biggest economy is cooling. Taiwan’s Taiex advanced 1.5 percent, the most among benchmark indexes in the Asia-Pacific region, led by Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. South Korea’s Kospi Index gained 0.4 percent. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.3 percent. The gauge retreated 0.5 percent on July 2, after government reports said payrolls decreased by 125,000 last month, the first drop this year, and factory orders declined. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 3.4 percent last week, as weaker manufacturing growth in the U.S., Europe and China added to signs the global economic recovery is slowing. The decline was the gauge’s biggest weekly drop since the period ended May 21. “We’re a bit oversold in the short term and people are trying to get value,” said Chris Weston, head of institutional dealing at IG Markets in Melbourne. “What we’re seeing at the moment is a classic tug of war between bearish market dynamics and bullish valuations.” Centennial, CSR Centennial Coal surged 33 percent to A$5.87. Banpu, Thailand’s biggest coal producer, agreed to buy the rest of the company it doesn’t own for A$2 billion ($1.7 billion). Banpu will pay A$6.20 a share, 40 percent more than Centennial’s closing price on July 2. Banpu gained 2.3 percent to 616 baht. CSR Ltd., Australia’s No. 2 building-products maker, gained 3.2 percent to A$1.75. Wilmar, the world’s largest palm oil trader, agreed to buy CSR’s sugar unit for A$1.75 billion, beating China’s Bright Food Group Co.’s offer for Australia’s biggest refiner. Singapore-listed Wilmar increased 2.1 percent to S$5.87. Shares of Japanese exporters gained after the yen depreciated to as low as 110.37 against the euro from 109.93 at the close of stock trading in Tokyo on July 2. A weaker yen boosts companies’ revenue from overseas sales when converted into the local currency. Consumer Lenders Sony rose 1.3 percent to 2,339 yen. Canon Inc., the world’s biggest maker of cameras, gained 0.5 percent to 3,275 yen. Panasonic Corp., the world’s largest maker of plasma TVs, climbed 1.8 percent to 1,118 yen. In Tokyo, Acom soared 26 percent to 1,442 yen. Credit Saison Co., a consumer-credit company, jumped 8.4 percent to 992 yen. The two stocks posted the biggest advances in the MSCI Asia Pacific Index today. Osaka is in the final stages of a proposal to the Japanese government to allow the municipality to override the nation’s lending rules introduced in June, the Mainichi newspaper reported on July 3. The Osaka prefectural government plans to announce the plan tomorrow, spokeswoman Yumi Fujiwara, said without giving additional details. In Hong Kong, Bank of China lost 1.8 percent to HK$3.90, while its Shanghai-listed stock sank 0.3 percent to 3.39 yuan. Both listings were halted on July 2 pending an announcement on the bank’s fund raising. The Beijing-based lender plans to raise as much as 60 billion yuan ($8.9 billion) from its rights offer. Property Correction? Shares of bigger rivals also dropped. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. slipped 0.7 percent to HK$5.58. China Construction Bank Corp. fell 1 percent to HK$6.14. Chinese developers declined after the Securities Times cited Land and Resources Minister Xu Shaoshi as saying property prices are likely heading for a correction. Country Garden Holdings Co., the property developer controlled by China’s richest woman, fell 1.4 percent to HK$2.11 in Hong Kong. Agile Property Holdings Ltd., a developer of residential condominiums, slipped 2 percent to HK$8.17. A measure for the country’s services industry fell for a third month in June, HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics said in an e-mailed statement. Today’s data and weak manufacturing figures last week provide more evidence China’s growth is slowing as the government cracks down on property speculation and the effects of stimulus measures fade. In Taipei, Hon Hai, the world’s largest contract manufacturer of electronics, climbed 3.6 percent to NT$116. The company got an order of 5 million laptops from Dell Inc. for next year, the Economic Daily News said. HTC Corp., which makes Google Inc.’s Nexus One mobile phone, advanced 6.9 percent to NT$471.5 after Citigroup Inc. upgraded the stock to “buy” from “sell.” To contact the reporters on this story: Jonathan Burgos in Singapore at jburgos4@bloomberg.net; Shani Raja in Sydney at sraja4@bloomberg.net.

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