By James Poole and Shani Raja Sept. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks rose for the first time in three days and the Australian dollar gained to a four-month high as employment grew more than expected. Commodities fell on speculation China’s government was investigating rubber trades. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 0.8 percent to 121.42 as of 3:21 p.m. in Tokyo, driven by a 1 percent increase in the S&P/ASX 200 gauge. The Aussie gained against 15 of 16 major counterparts, rising to 92.19 U.S. cents from 91.82 cents in New York. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures were little changed and those for Euro Stoxx 50 decreased 0.5 percent. Rubber futures dropped 3.9 percent in Shanghai. Australian employers added workers in August for the 11th time in 12 months, spurring optimism the Asian recovery will be sustained. South Korea’s central bank will focus on ensuring stable prices and sustained growth under an accommodative policy, the Bank of Korea said. Initial U.S. jobless claims fell by 2,000 to 470,000 in the week ended Sept. 4, economists surveyed by Bloomberg predicted before the report is released later today. “Some of the extreme bearishness of the past few weeks has been flowing out,” said Stephen Halmarick, who helps manage about $135 billion as head of investment markets research at Colonial First State Global Asset Management in Sydney. The jobs report shows “the economy continues to do extraordinarily well compared to most other countries,” he said. About two shares advanced for each one that fell on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 0.8 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was up 0.6 percent. ‘Sense of Relief’ Canon Inc., which gets more than 80 percent of its sales outside Japan, gained 1.1 percent in Tokyo. Toyota Motor Corp., which counts North America as its biggest market outside Japan, rose 1.9 percent. BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s biggest mining company, climbed 0.7 percent in Sydney. “There is a sense of relief about Europe, so there is a temporary pause in risk aversion” said Mitsushige Akino, who oversees about $450 million in Tokyo at Ichiyoshi Investment Management Co. “Exporters may be bought.” Commodities in China fell on speculation regulators were investigating large positions in rubber futures, the Securities Times said on its website, citing people it didn’t identify. The selling spilled into copper, aluminum and zinc, it said. An official at the China Securities Regulatory Commission declined to comment. Copper for three-month delivery dropped as much as 2.8 percent to $7,460 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange, tracking the decline in Chinese futures, and traded at $7,529. China Stocks China’s stocks dropped the most in two weeks, led by financial and metal companies, as rising property prices fueled concern the government will deepen measures to curb speculation. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 1 percent to 2,667.60 at the 11:30 a.m. local break. China Vanke Co. and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. paced declines for developers and banks as Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. said the government may further tighten anti- speculation measures. Australia’s dollar gained to 77.14 yen from 77.02 yesterday. New Zealand’s dollar, nicknamed the kiwi, was at 72.21 U.S. cents from 72.28, and reached 72.57 on Sept. 6, the strongest level since Aug. 10. The number of people employed in Australia rose by 30,900 in August, exceeding the median forecast for a gain of 25,000 in a Bloomberg News survey of 25 economists. The jobless rate fell to 5.1 percent from 5.3 percent, the statistics bureau said. Dollar, Won The dollar traded not far from a 15-year low against the yen before Labor Department data forecast to say the number of Americans seeking jobless benefits fell for a third-straight week. It traded at 83.70 yen from 83.88 yesterday when it hit 83.35, the weakest since May 1995. The U.S. currency traded near its lowest levels since at least mid-August against higher- yielding counterparts. The U.S. economy maintained its expansion while showing “widespread signs of a deceleration” in mid-July through August, according to a survey by 12 regional Federal Reserve banks released yesterday. South Korea’s won climbed to a one-month high on speculation the nation’s rising exports and improving economy will attract funds from abroad. The currency held its advance after the Bank of Korea unexpectedly refrained from raising interest rates at a policy meeting. “We saw an initial knee-jerk reaction as the market was surprised,” said Bernard Yeung, Hong Kong-based head of foreign-exchange trading at National Australia Bank Ltd. “But the trend is resuming for Korean won appreciation because of its economic fundamentals.” The won was 0.4 percent stronger at 1,167.70 per dollar. Central bank governor Kim Choong Soo kept the seven-day repurchase rate at 2.25 percent. Only four of 14 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News predicted the result, with the rest forecasting a quarter-point increase. To contact the reporter for this story: James Poole in Singapore at jpoole4@bloomberg.net

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