Asian stocks gained and oil advanced before data forecast to show the fastest U.S. retail sales growth in five months and improving confidence among German investors. The yen erased declines after Japan’s central bank kept its asset-purchase program unchanged. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index (MXAP) rallied 1 percent as of 2:36 p.m. in Tokyo, advancing for the third time in four days. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 0.4 percent. The yen strengthened 0.2 percent against the dollar. New Zealand’s dollar rose 0.5 percent after data showed house and food prices increased. The S&P GSCI Index of raw materials added 0.5 percent. Oil climbed 0.5 percent to $106.86 a barrel. U.S. retail sales probably rose 1.1 percent in February, while a German sentiment gauge from the ZEW Center for European Economic Research reached a one-year high, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg before reports today. European Union Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said yesterday that he was confident EU leaders would reach an agreement on increasing the size of crisis-fighting funds. “We’re starting to feel more confident and it’s going to be a good year, particularly in equities,� Kirk West, Sydney- based executive director of international investments at Principal Global Investors, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. The firm oversees about $215 billion in assets. “In the U.S., it’s all about jobs. Jobs growth has continued and will ultimately lead to further consumption and that’s a virtuous cycle.� BOJ Meeting The Bank of Japan added a 1 trillion yen ($12 billion) program for loans denominated in U.S. dollars and said it is expanding its venture-capital style domestic fund by 500 billion yen. Governor Masaaki Shirakawa and his board members kept the benchmark interest rate and an asset-purchase fund unchanged. The Federal Reserve is wrapping up a policy meeting today. The Wall Street Journal last week reported the U.S. central bank is considering a strategy that would allow it to undertake another round of bond buying, while lowering the risk of inflation. Financial stocks climbed 1.5 percent for the biggest gain among 10 industries in the MSCI Asia-Pacific gauge. Asian Stocks More than two shares rose for each that fell in the Asian equity benchmark. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of Chinese companies listed in Hong Kong rallied 1.3 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 1.2 and South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.1 percent. Asahi Kasei Corp. (3407), a Japanese maker of synthetic fibers and industrial chemicals, slid 5.2 percent in Tokyo after agreeing to buy Zoll Medical Corp. for $2.2 billion. Golden Eagle Retail Group Ltd. (3308), a department store operator based in eastern China’s Jiangsu province, advanced 5.9 percent in Hong Kong after reporting 2011 profit gained 26 percent. Hong Kong’s HSI Volatility Index (VHSI) dropped 2.5 percent to a seven-month low. The gauge of option prices for the Hang Seng Index has tumbled 14 percent in the last four days. The EU’s Rehn said yesterday that the European Commission was ready to prepare a proposal on strengthening the so-called firewall against the debt crisis. While leaders had made “quite good progress� in taming the situation, the need remained for the EU to complete its crisis response plans, Rehn said in Brussels after a meeting of finance ministers. Greece, which concluded a bond-swap deal with private investors, is now in line to receive more than 100 billion euros in the next three years from the European Financial Stability Facility, the euro region’s temporary rescue fund, EFSF Chief Executive Officer Klaus Regling said. ‘Wait and See’ “It seems like the Greek bond deal is going through; that issue is off the table, at least for the time being,� said Stephen Halmarick, Sydney-based head of investment markets research at Colonial First State Global Asset Management, which oversees about $150 billion. Futures signal the S&P 500 (SPX) may advance in U.S. trading today, after closing little changed yesterday. Treasury 10-year yields were little changed at 2.04 percent on speculation that stronger U.S. economic data will reduce the case for further easing by the central bank. The two-year yield reached 0.33 percent today, the highest since Aug. 4. U.S. Trading Volume Trading on American equity exchanges fell to the lowest level of the year yesterday as enthusiasm waned among investors even after the S&P 500 rallied 25 percent in five months. Shares changing hands on all exchanges fell 16 percent to 5.23 billion today from March 9, while S&P 500 composite volume slipped 17 percent to 2.17 billion shares, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Those are the lowest daily levels excluding holiday weeks since Bloomberg began tracking the data in 2008. The so-called kiwi dollar halted two days of losses after the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand Inc.’s index of house prices rose 0.8 percent to 3,280.5 last month, according to a statement today. Separately, the statistics bureau said February food prices increased 0.6 percent from the previous month. The cost of insuring bonds against non-payment dropped, according to credit-default swap traders. The Markit iTraxx Asia index of 40 investment-grade borrowers outside Japan fell 1 basis point to 155.5 basis points, BNP Paribas SA prices show. The gauge is poised to close at its lowest level since Sept. 2, according to data provider CMA. To contact the reporters on this story: Lynn Thomasson in Hong Kong at lthomasson@bloomberg.net; Shiyin Chen in Singapore at schen37@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Rocky Swift at rswift5@bloomberg.net

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