By Sandy Hendry and Shani Raja Feb. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks advanced the most since November and emerging-market currencies rallied as corporate earnings beat expectations and reports signaled the global economy is recovering. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 2 percent to 118.64 as of 4:15 p.m. in Tokyo. The yen and Treasuries fell before reports today that economists said will show U.K. jobless claims declined and U.S. manufacturing accelerated, boosting the appeal of higher-yielding assets. Credit risk dropped after Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou said there’s no need for a European Union bailout. Futures for the Dow Jones Euro Stoxx 50 gained 0.9 percent and those for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.2 percent. Improved earnings at Barclays Plc and faster-than-estimated growth in New York manufacturing spurred optimism the global economic recovery will be sustained. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index is down 8.2 percent from a 17-month high on Jan. 15 on speculation central banks will tighten monetary policy and governments will struggle to curb deficits. “The market’s focus has been shifting between concern over sovereign debt and clear signs of an emerging global recovery,” said Matt Riordan, who helps manage about $5 billion at Paradice Investment Management in Sydney. “Today, the recovery story is winning out. The data globally has been pretty positive and the reporting season has been full of positive surprises.” Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average advanced 2.7 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 2.2 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index jumped 1.5 percent. The S&P 500 Index climbed 1.8 percent yesterday. Commodities Rally Rio Tinto Group, the world’s third-biggest mining company, gained 3.3 percent to A$72.92 after copper futures for May delivery climbed 4.4 percent in New York yesterday, while crude oil for March delivery jumped 3.9 percent. BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s biggest mining company, rose 2.1 percent to A$41.39. Mitsubishi Corp., a commodities trader, climbed 3.4 percent to 2,279 yen in Tokyo. Mitsui O.S.K., which operates the world’s largest merchant-shipping fleet, increased 5 percent to 584 yen as commodity shipping rates rose. Copper in London was little changed at $7,150 a metric ton, after earlier touching a three-week high of $7,165. Crude oil gained 0.2 percent to $77.18 a barrel in New York. Toshiba Corp. gained 6/3 percent to 454 yen. The U.S. government said it has conditionally committed $8.33 billion to Southern Co. and its partners to build a nuclear power plant using the Japanese company’s reactors. Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., Australia’s fourth-largest lender, surged 4.6 percent to A$22.07. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., the nation’s biggest bank, increased 2.3 percent to HK$5.71 in Hong Kong. Barclays Plc, the U.K.’s second-largest bank, soared 6.8 percent in London trading yesterday after second-half profit more than doubled, lifted by investment banking and the sale of a fund management unit. Positive Earnings CSL Ltd., the only influenza-vaccine maker in the Southern Hemisphere, jumped 5.1 percent to A$33.90 after posting a bigger-than-expected 23 percent gain in first-half profit on sales of its swine flu shot. In South Korea, Hwangkum Steel & Technology Co., a maker of stainless steel sheets, rose 3.9 percent to the highest in a month after reporting a 12-fold increase in annual profit. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index’s drop since Jan. 15 cut the average price of stocks in the gauge to 55 times reported earnings yesterday, the lowest level this year. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index in the U.S. trades at 19 times and the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index in Europe is at 32 times. Risk Appetite The South Korean won climbed 0.8 percent to 1,142.20 per dollar and touched the strongest level since Jan. 21. The Malaysian ringgit strengthened 1 percent to 3.3894 and the Indonesian rupiah gained 0.3 percent to 9,295. Japan’s currency weakened against 8 of its 16 most-traded counterparts, trading at 124.09 to the euro from 124.12 in New York. The yen was at 90.29 to the dollar from 90.14. The euro was little changed at $1.3747 after gaining 1.3 percent yesterday when Greece’s tax collectors called off a strike, easing concern that unions will block spending cuts aimed at shrinking the EU’s biggest budget deficit. Claims for U.K. jobless benefits fell 10,000 in January, according to a Bloomberg News survey before today’s statistics bureau report. “Receding anxiety about the debt situation in Greece is buoying pent-up risk appetite,” said Masahide Tanaka, a senior strategist in Tokyo at Mizuho Trust & Banking Co. “Higher- yielding assets may draw renewed attention.” Treasuries Drop U.S. government bonds fell with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note climbed two basis points to 3.68 percent, according to BGCantor Market Data. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s general economic index showed the fasted growth in manufacturing in four months. “The U.S. economy will recover,” said Masaaki Sugihara, who helps oversee $12 billion in assets as head of foreign debt in Tokyo at Toyota Asset Management Co., a unit of Japan’s biggest carmaker. “Treasury yields will rise.” Industrial production in the U.S. increased 0.7 percent in January after a 0.6 percent expansion the prior month, according to a Bloomberg News survey of economists before the Federal Reserve reports the figure today. U.S. builders may have broken ground on 580,000 houses at an annual pace, up 4.1 percent from December, a separate Bloomberg survey showed ahead of the Commerce Department report. The cost of protecting Australian corporate bonds from non- payment declined, according to traders of credit-default swaps. The Markit iTraxx Australia index fell 5 basis points to 98 basis points, Citigroup Inc. prices show. The risk benchmark is set for its lowest close since Feb. 12, according to CMA DataVision in New York. To contact the reporters on this story: Shani Raja in Sydney at sraja4@bloomberg.net;

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