BLBG: Asian Stocks Climb, Led by Exporters, as U.S. Fed Boosts Economic Outlook
Asian stocks rose, sending the regional benchmark index to a one-week high, as an increased forecast for U.S. economic growth from the Federal Reserve and improving earnings bolstered confidence in an economic recovery.
Canon Inc., a camera maker that receives 81 percent of its sales outside of Japan, climbed 3.4 percent in Tokyo. Honda Motor Co., which counts North America as its biggest market, advanced 2.3 percent in Tokyo. Qantas Airways Ltd., Australia’s No. 1 airline, jumped 5 percent in Sydney after reporting profit that more than quadrupled. Neptune Orient Lines Ltd., Asia’s No. 2 container line by sales, rose 2.4 percent in Singapore after posting fourth-quarter profit that beat estimates.
“Economic sentiment is improving and that is supporting the stock market,” said Mitsushige Akino, who oversees about $450 million in Tokyo at Ichiyoshi Investment Management Co. “Investors expecting stocks to rise further are increasing” because of positive economic data and strong corporate earnings.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.5 percent to 138.6 as of 12:29 p.m. in Tokyo, heading for its highest close since Feb. 8. The gauge last week sank 2.7 percent after China raised borrowing costs and anti-government protests intensified in Egypt, eventually forcing President Hosni Mubarak to resign.
Of the 454 companies in the MSCI Asia Pacific Index that have reported results since Jan. 1 for the latest quarter, 178 have exceeded analysts’ estimates, while 138 have missed them, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average increased 0.3 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 0.2 percent and New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index rose 0.3 percent. South Korea’s Kospi Index fell 0.5 percent.
Fed Minutes
Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slipped 0.1 percent today. The index rose 0.6 percent yesterday in New York to a 32-month high following the Fed’s forecast for economic growth, improving earnings and takeovers.
Officials “continued to express disappointment in both the pace and the unevenness of the improvements in labor markets,” while also judging the recovery to be on a “firmer footing,” the Federal Open Market Committee said in minutes of its Jan. 25-26 meeting, released in Washington. Policy makers raised projections for economic growth this year and made little change to forecasts after 2011 or for unemployment and inflation.
Commerce Department figures showed that housing starts climbed 15 percent to a 596,000 annual rate. The median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey called for a 539,000 rate. Work started on 78 percent more dwellings with two or more units, overshadowing a drop in single-family houses that indicates the housing market continues to struggle.
“An improvement in the housing market and consumer spending is a first step to a self-sustaining recovery,” Ichiyoshi Investment Management’s Akino said.
Exporters Advance
Gauges of information technology and consumer discretionary companies posted the biggest advance among the 10 industry groups in the MSCI Asia Pacific Index, all of which gained.
Canon climbed 3.4 percent to 4,085 yen in Tokyo. Sony Corp., the maker of Bravia televisions and PlayStation game consoles, increased 2 percent to 3,040 yen. Samsung Electronics Co., Asia’s largest maker of chips, flat screens and mobile phones, rose 0.7 percent to 952,000 won in Seoul.
Honda Motor, Japan’s second-biggest carmaker, advanced 2.3 percent to 3,740 yen in Tokyo. Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea’s largest car maker, gained 1.7 percent to 178,000 won in Seoul.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index increased 0.2 percent this year to yesterday, compared with gains of 6.3 percent by the S&P 500 and 5.4 percent by the Stoxx Europe 600 Index. Stocks in the Asian benchmark are valued at 14.1 times estimated earnings on average, compared with 13.9 times for the S&P 500 and 11.5 times for the Stoxx 600.
Qantas, Neptune
In Sydney, Qantas jumped 5 percent to A$2.51. The company said first-half profit more than quadrupled to A$241 million ($242 million) from A$58 million a year ago as rebounding corporate and holiday travel offset disruptions following an Airbus SAS A380 engine explosion.
Neptune Orient Lines climbed 2.4 percent to S$2.18 in Singapore. The company said it had a fourth-quarter net income of $177 million, compared with a loss of $211 million a year earlier. That beat the average estimate of $75 million by four analysts compiled by Bloomberg.
Energy companies gained after crude oil for March delivery rose 0.8 percent to settle at $84.99 a barrel in New York yesterday. The contract advanced as much as 0.4 percent during Asian trading.
Cnooc Ltd., China’s largest offshore oil producer, increased 1.2 percent to HK$17.04 in Hong Kong. Inpex Corp., Japan’s biggest energy explorer climbed 1.8 percent to 572,000 yen in Tokyo.
To contact the reporters on this story: Jonathan Burgos in Singapore at jburgos4@bloomberg.net.; Akiko Ikeda in Tokyo at iakiko@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Gentle at ngentle2@bloomberg.net.
