By Nicolas Johnson and Kana Nishizawa Dec. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks rose to a two-week high and emerging-market currencies strengthened after reports from China and Japan showed the region’s expansion is accelerating. Europe and U.S. stock-index futures gained. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 0.7 percent at 4:34 p.m. in Tokyo to 120.38, the highest level since Dec. 14. The won advanced against all 16 of the most-traded currencies tracked by Bloomberg after four Korean companies won a $20 billion United Arab Emirates nuclear-power-plant contract. Copper increased to a 15-month high. Hong Kong stocks pared gains after property sales fell short of expectations. China’s growth in 2008 was faster than previously estimated and Japan reported today that industrial production improved for a ninth month in November as Asia leads the world economy out of the first global recession since World War II. Gains were limited after Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said the government will stem property speculation, and a newspaper showed falling approval ratings for Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama. “The global economy is just about bottoming out,” said Masaru Hamasaki, chief strategist at Tokyo-based Toyota Asset Management Co., which oversees the equivalent of $14 billion. “I don’t expect huge economic growth, but I do see things recovering.” The Shanghai Composite Index and Nikkei 225 Stock Average led the gains in the MSCI Asia Pacific Index. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.2 percent, paring gains of as much as 1 percent, after the price of land being auctioned missed the low end of analyst estimates. Index Futures Rise Futures on the Dow Jones Euro Stoxx 50 Index, a benchmark gauge for the euro region, added 1.2 percent. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures, which were closed for trading on Dec. 25, rose 0.2 percent. The Shanghai Composite advanced 1.5 percent to the highest since Dec. 16, led by consumer stocks on the growth outlook and as the government increased price caps for rural purchases of home appliances. GD Midea Holding Co., China’s second-biggest publicly traded appliance maker, climbed to a 19-month high. JFE Holdings Inc. and Hitachi Construction Machinery Co. led gains on the Nikkei 225, which added 1.3 percent. Doosan Corp., Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co., Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. and Korea Electric Power Corp. surged more than 4 percent after the nuclear-power order from the U.A.E. Korea’s Kospi Index climbed 0.2 percent. The won rose 0.4 to 1170.15. It earlier reached the strongest in more than a week. Asia Drives Growth East Asian economies will grow faster than initially estimated this year, the World Bank said last month. Developing East Asia, which excludes Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore and the Indian subcontinent, will expand 6.7 percent this year, more than an April estimate of 5.3 percent, it said, adding that growth may accelerate to 7.8 percent next year. The dollar strengthened for the first time in four days against the euro and yen before reports forecast to show improving U.S. property values and consumer confidence. Treasuries were little changed ahead of a record-tying $118 billion in bond auctions this week. The dollar rose to $1.4375 per euro in Tokyo from $1.4411 in New York on Dec. 25. The U.S. currency advanced to 91.56 yen from 91.30 yen. The euro traded at 131.61 yen from 131.64 yen. Commodities Advance Copper futures in Shanghai climbed as much as 1.6 percent to 58,770 yuan ($8,608) a ton, the highest level since September 2008, after workers at Codelco’s Chuquicamata copper mine in Chile rejected the company’s latest wage offer. Prices also increased after stockpiles in China, the world’s largest consumer, dropped. Platinum for immediately delivery rose as much as 1.8 percent to the highest since Dec. 4, and gold advanced 0.5 percent to $1,110.78 an ounce on speculation that some investors are increasing their holdings after the metal fell for a fourth week, the longest losing streak since April. Crude oil traded above $78 a barrel in New York after rising to a three-week high on signs that the U.S. economy is recovering. Corn climbed for a third day, rising as much as 1 percent to $4.125 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade, on speculation that snow and ice may damage late-harvested U.S. crops. To contact the reporters for this story: Nicolas Johnson in Tokyo at nicojohnson@bloomberg.net; Kana Nishizawa in Tokyo at knishizawa5@bloomberg.net.

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