By Shani Raja and Masaki Kondo March 19 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks rose, driving the MSCI Asia Pacific Index toward a fourth weekly advance, after U.S. jobs and manufacturing reports boosted confidence in a global economic recovery. Sony Corp., which makes Bravia televisions and the PlayStation 3 video-game system, climbed 2.5 percent in Tokyo. Honda Motor Co., a Japanese carmaker that gets 44 percent of its sales in North America, rose 1.9 percent. Advantech Co., an industrial-computer maker that gets a third of its sales in North America, jumped 4.7 percent in Taipei. Kia Motors Corp., South Korea’s second-largest automaker, gained 4.2 percent in Seoul after saying it will boost production capacity in Europe. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.4 percent to 124.78 as of 1 p.m. in Tokyo, with about five stocks advancing for every three that declined. Equities have rallied in the past six weeks as concerns over monetary tightening and Greece’s debt receded, and as companies from Woolworths Ltd. to Nissan Motor Co. reported better-than-expected earnings. “Economies and earnings globally are in recovery mode and I don’t think we have to worry about it,” said Yoshinori Nagano, a senior strategist in Tokyo at Daiwa Asset Management Co., which oversees the equivalent of $95 billion. “People have been jittery about monetary tightening, but authorities can consider ending stimulus because economies are improving,” Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 0.6 percent, the biggest increase among major Asia-Pacific equity benchmarks. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index were little changed. South Korea’s Kospi index rose 0.2 percent. China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.3 percent amid speculation the government will boost steps to control inflation. China Merchants Bank Co. lost 0.8 percent. U.S. Reports Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index were little changed. The gauge also closed little changed yesterday, as a Labor Department report showed first-time applications for jobless benefits dropped in the week ended March 13. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s general economic index rose in March to the highest level this year. “The U.S. economy is improving day by day, and so is the global economy,” said Hiroichi Nishi, an equities manager at Nikko Cordial Securities Inc. in Tokyo. “People are beginning to expect better corporate earnings.” Sony, which gets about a quarter of its revenue from the U.S., climbed 2.5 percent to 3,515 yen. Canon Inc., the world’s largest camera maker, climbed 2 percent to 4,105 yen. Honda, Japan’s second-largest carmaker, rose 1.9 percent to 3,260 yen. Advantech surged 4.7 percent to NT$69 in Taipei. Neosemitech Corp., a South Korean maker of parts for solar cells, gained 5.6 percent to 11,350 won in Seoul. Production Capacity Kia Motors rose 4.2 percent to 23,750 won. The company will add a 100 million-euro ($137 million) engine unit to its factory in Slovakia to boost production capacity in Europe, Kia’s Slovak affiliate said yesterday. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index has gained 9.3 percent from its lowest level in more than two months on Feb. 8, as better-than- estimated U.S. employment data and a pledge of support from French President Nicolas Sarkozy for debt-stricken Greece bolstered confidence in the global recovery. The average price of stocks in the index has risen to 18.9 times estimated earnings on average from 18 at February’s low. Among stocks that fell today, China Merchants Bank dropped 0.8 percent to 15.41 yuan in Shanghai. China’s central bank will drain as much as 213 billion yuan ($31 billion) through open- market operations this week, the South China Morning Post reported today, citing Shanghai-based Wind Info. Interest Rates Economists from Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Deutsche Bank AG and JPMorgan Chase & Co. have said the risks of overheating are building in the world’s third-largest economy and the central bank should raise interest rates as early as this month. “It’s only a matter of time before the central bank raises interest rates, and investors are worried something may happen over the weekend,” said Wang Zheng, a fund manager at Jingxi Investment Management Co. in Shanghai. The central bank hasn’t increased borrowing costs since December 2007. China’s consumer prices jumped 2.7 percent in February from a year earlier, exports surged 46 percent and industrial output gained the most in more than five years, government data showed this month. In Hong Kong, Orient Overseas (International) Ltd. Hong Kong’s biggest container line, retreated 1.1 percent to HK59.05 after posting its first annual loss in 11 years. To contact the reporter for this story: Shani Raja in Sydney at sraja4@bloomberg.net; Masaki Kondo in Tokyo at mkondo3@bloomberg.net.

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