BLBG:Most Asian Stocks Advance on Higher Oil, Materials Prices
Most Asian stocks rose, with the regional benchmark index climbing from its lowest level in more than two months, as materials producers and traders increased on higher commodity prices and Citigroup Inc. recommended buying global industrial shares.
Alumina Ltd. (AWC), partner in the world’s biggest producer of the material used to make alumina, added 1.1 percent in Sydney after Alcoa Inc., the largest U.S. aluminum producer, reported an unexpected first-quarter profit. Fanuc Corp., a maker of production automation systems, advanced 1.6 percent after Citigroup maintained a buy rating on the Japanese company. Australian banks increased after the country’s payrolls rose almost seven times as much as economists estimated.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.3 percent to 123.39 as of 1:58 p.m. in Tokyo after falling as much as 0.2 percent. About three stocks rose for every two that fell on the gauge, which slid 3.4 percent in the six trading days through yesterday, its longest such streak since August.
“Today we will see a little bit of rebound after five or so days of negative market activity, but there are significant headwinds on the horizon,” said Tim Schroeders, who helps manage $1 billion in equities at Pengana Capital Ltd. in Melbourne. “It’s still very much the time to be cautious. Spain and Italy continue to be problems in Europe, and we’ve got an imminent North Korean rocket launch, which over the next few days people will be watching with interest.”
The Asia-Pacific gauge fell 4.6 percent through yesterday from a peak for the year on Feb. 29 as China announced a lower target for economic growth and U.S. Federal Reserve officials warned against overconfidence in the recovery.
North Korea Rocket
The measure, which includes some companies from emerging markets, trades at 12.6 times estimated earnings compared with 13.1 times for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index and 10.6 times for the Stoxx Europe 600 Index.
South Korean shares dropped as North Korea prepared to test a long-range rocket. Samsung Electronics Co. (005930), which supplies touch screens to Nokia OYJ, fell after the Finnish company reported a software fault with its latest U.S. model.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 0.2 percent after falling as much as 0.1 percent. Volume on the gauge was about 16 percent below the 30-day average for the time of day.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index advanced 0.6 percent in Sydney as BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Group climbed amid higher metal and oil prices and unemployment remained at 5.2 percent, lower than the 5.3 percent median estimate of 24 economists in a Bloomberg survey.
China Interest Rates
The Hang Seng Index rose 0.4 percent as Chinese banks advanced after Nomura Holdings Inc.’s chief Asian equity strategist Michael Kurtz wrote in a report dated yesterday that the country may cut interest rates in the “immediate future.”
Oil traded today near the highest price in almost a week in New York after a bigger-than-expected decline in fuel stockpiles in the U.S., the world’s biggest crude consumer. Crude for May delivery yesterday climbed 1.7 percent to $102.70 a barrel, the highest close since April 5.
Copper gained for a second day as better-than-expected car sales in China and expectations of monetary easing by the largest user boosted the demand outlook. The metal for delivery in three months advanced as much as 0.7 percent to $8,095 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange, and traded at $8,076 by 9:57 a.m. Shanghai time.
To contact the reporters on this story: Norie Kuboyama in Tokyo at nkuboyama@bloomberg.net; Yoshiaki Nohara in Tokyo at ynohara1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Gentle at ngentle2@bloomberg.net
