By Jonathan Burgos July 17 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks rose, rounding out the MSCI Asia Pacific Index’s best week since May, as economist Nouriel Roubini said the worst of the financial crisis is over. Indonesia’s benchmark index posted the region’s biggest decline after bombs killed at least nine people in Jakarta. Mitsubishi Estate Co., Japan’s biggest property developer by market value, jumped 4.4 percent after Barclays Plc gave the company its top “overweight” rating. Macquarie Countrywide Trust jumped 19 percent in Sydney after selling a stake in U.S. properties. LG Display Co., the world’s No. 2 liquid-crystal- display maker, gained 2.3 percent in Seoul as brokerages upgraded the stock following better-than-expected profit. “Sentiment has been gaining momentum following positive economic and earnings news,” said Michiya Tomita, who helps manage $61 billion at Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. in Hong Kong. “Most of the good news has been priced in. Investors will be looking for more catalysts in the next few weeks as companies report earnings.” The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 0.7 percent to 103.27 as of 3:14 p.m. in Tokyo, taking its gain this week to 2.6 percent. The gauge has rallied 46 percent from a five-year low on March 9 amid optimism stimulus policies around the world will revive the global economy. The MSCI World Index has risen 6.5 percent this week, set for its biggest weekly advance since March. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 0.6 percent. Nomura Holdings Inc. gained 2.8 percent after the Nikkei English News said the nation’s investment banking revenue rose. Jakarta Bombings Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 1.4 percent. Orient Overseas (International) Ltd., the city’s largest container line, surged 52 percent, rebounding from a 32 percent plunge yesterday that analysts said may have been caused by a trading error. Taiwan’s Taiex Index climbed 1 percent. Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite Index fell 1.2 percent after the bombings at the Ritz Carlton and JW Marriott hotels. PT Holcim Indonesia, a unit of the world’s second-biggest cement maker, sank 5.3 percent after the Marriott explosion killed the company’s president. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost 0.3 percent. The gauge reversed a loss of as much as 0.6 percent to end the day 0.9 percent higher on Roubini’s comments. “The freefall of the economy has stopped,” the New York University professor who predicted the financial crisis said at a conference in the city. “There is light at the end of the tunnel. And the light at the end of the tunnel for once is not the one of an incoming train.” Economic Recovery After the close of trading, Roubini said his comments were a reiteration of his view that the contraction would last 24 months. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index has risen this week as government reports showed economic growth accelerated in China and U.S. manufacturing improved. Singapore also upgraded its forecast for gross domestic product. Intel Corp. forecast sales that beat analyst estimates, while International Business Machines Corp. yesterday raised its profit forecast. “Improved investor risk appetite is being reflected in rising stocks,” said Juichi Wako, a senior strategist at Tokyo- based Nomura Holdings Inc. “The market is starting to surmise that U.S. earnings will not be as weak as forecast.” Stocks on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index are trading at an average 43 times reported earnings, up from the 15 times shares were trading at during the market’s trough in March. Companies on the S&P 500 are currently at 14 times profit. Property Developers Finance stocks accounted for 44 percent of the MSCI index’s advance today. Mitsubishi Estate jumped 4.4 percent to 1,478 yen. NTT Urban Development Co., which manages properties for Japan’s phone monopoly, added 6.1 percent to 90,900 yen. Sumitomo Realty & Development Co., the country’s No. 3 developer, climbed 4.1 percent to 1,646 yen. Takashi Hashimoto, a Barclays analyst in Tokyo, assigned “overweight” recommendations to all three companies in new coverage. Nomura, Japan’s largest brokerage, added 2.8 percent to 734 yen. Japanese investment bank commission revenue in the quarter ended in June rose 90 percent from a year earlier, Nikkei English News reported, citing research firm Dealogic. Macquarie Countrywide climbed 19 percent to 61.5 Australian cents. The company agreed to sell its 75 percent interest in a U.S. portfolio of 86 properties for $1.3 billion. In Seoul, LG Display climbed 2.3 percent to 35,600 won. JPMorgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Credit Suisse Group raised their share-price targets after the company reported second-quarter profit that beat analyst estimates and forecast prices will rise. Slumping Sales Nintendo Co., the maker of Wii game consoles, declined 1.2 percent to 25,640 yen. Sony Corp., the maker of PlayStation game consoles, slipped 0.9 percent to 2,265 yen. Total U.S. revenue from gaming hardware, software and accessories tumbled 31 percent, the largest drop since September 2000 and prolonging the contraction for a fourth month, according to NPD Group Inc. June sales of Sony’s PlayStation 3 fell 59 percent, while those of Nintendo’s Wii console slumped 46 percent, NPD said. Orient Overseas surged 52 percent to HK$34.95 following yesterday’s 32 percent plunge. The company had “no clue” what caused the decline, spokesman Stanley Shen said. “We are not aware of any fundamental change in the company or the industry to cause the sharp decline,” Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analyst Tom Kim said in a research note today, reiterating his “buy” rating on the stock. It may have been a “trading glitch,” he wrote. Worst Terrorist Attack In Jakarta, Holcim Indonesia, the nation’s third-biggest cement maker, fell 5.3 percent to 1,260 rupiah following the country’s worst terrorist attack since 2005. President Director Timothy David Mackay died in hospital after the Marriott explosion, said Budi Primawan, a company spokesman. The explosions, which occurred shortly before 8 a.m. local time, ripped the façade off the Ritz Carlton, blew out windows and showered the street outside the hotels in the district with glass and debris. Hours later, a car bomb exploded north of the capital, killing two people, TVOne reported. “Things like these are always a worry,” said Hugh Young, who helps oversee $30 billion as Asian managing director for Aberdeen Asset Management Plc in Singapore. To contact the reporter for this story: Jonathan Burgos in Singapore at jburgos4@bloomberg.net.

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