By Linus Chua and Saeromi Shin Feb. 9 (Bloomberg) -- The euro rallied, copper rose and stocks pared losses as speculation European officials will help Greece tackle its budget deficit eased concern that rising debt burdens will derail the global economic recovery. Europe’s currency rose 0.4 percent to $1.3698 at 3:31 p.m. in Tokyo, rebounding from near an eight-month low, and gained 0.6 percent against the yen to 122.53. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index of stocks was little changed after dropping as much as 0.6 percent. Copper climbed 0.5 percent, reversing an earlier loss. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 0.3 percent. European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet will leave a meeting of policy makers in Sydney a day early to attend a gathering of European Union leaders, fanning speculation that officials will come to Greece’s aid. More than $439 billion has been wiped from stocks worldwide since Jan. 14 as lending curbs in China and Greece’s struggle to reduce its deficit prompted investors to flee risk. “Some confidence is building up that Greece would avert the worst case scenario,” said Chu Moon Sung, a fund manager at Shinhan BNP Paribas Asset Management Co. in Seoul, which manages the equivalent to $26 billion in assets. “Investors seem to be looking for stocks that turned cheaper after they panicked on the Greece issue.” Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.2 percent to 19,586 after dropping as much as 0.5 percent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average pared a 0.9 percent drop to trade 0.2 percent lower at 9931.98. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index declined 0.4 percent after losing as much as 1.3 percent. EU Summit Trichet will depart a symposium organized by the Reserve Bank of Australia today to attend the EU meeting, ECB spokeswoman Regina Schueller said. Greece’s debt woes had threatened to overshadow the Feb. 11 summit to lay the groundwork for a 10-year program to strengthen the EU’s competitiveness. “A policy measure directed at Greece’s fiscal situation is potentially in the works,” said David Forrester, a currency economist at Barclays Capital in Singapore. Greek two-year bond yields have surged to the highest in almost a decade and credit-default swaps on Spain and Portugal rose to a record yesterday as concern about Europe’s public finances spreads. So far, finance officials have stuck to their line that Greece won’t need outside help to reduce its deficit to the EU limit of 3 percent of gross domestic product, from 12.7 percent. Technology Stocks The euro traded at $1.3698 at 3:31 p.m. in Tokyo, from $1.3649 in New York yesterday. The currency rose to 122.53 yen in Tokyo from 121.81 yen in New York. It touched 120.71 yen on Feb. 5, the weakest level since Feb. 24. Japan’s currency declined to 89.43 per dollar from 89.26. The yen weakened against all of its 16 major counterparts on prospects that Japan’s importers are buying foreign currencies to settle bills. Asia’s technology stocks rose as the prospect of a rescue for Greece eased concern that exports will decline. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which counts on Europe for about 12 percent of sales, climbed 2.4 percent. Murata Manufacturing Co., a Japanese maker of precision electronics that relies on Europe for 14 percent of revenue, added 1.4 percent, its first advance in eight days. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index completed its third weekly decline last week as an unexpected increase in U.S. jobless claims and concerns over debt in Europe dented investor confidence. That cut the average price of stocks in the gauge to 18 times estimated earnings, the lowest level since February 2009, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Metals Gain Macquarie Group Ltd., Australia’s largest investment bank, slumped 6.2 percent in Sydney after its second-half profit forecast disappointed some investors. Westpac Banking Corp. fell 2.5 percent as the cost of protecting Australian government bonds from default jumped to a nine-month high. The Markit iTraxx Australia index of credit-default swaps on 25 Australian companies increased 8.25 basis points to 114.25 basis points as of 5:16 p.m. in Sydney, according to Citigroup Inc. The Markit iTraxx Asia index of 50 investment-grade borrowers outside Japan climbed 10 basis points to 134 basis points as of 2:16 p.m. in Singapore, Citigroup prices show. Copper for delivery in three months on the London Metal Exchange climbed as much as 0.5 percent to $6,480 a metric ton, extending yesterday’s 2.7 percent rise. Today’s gain for the metal used in autos and wiring reversed an earlier loss. Tin, nickel, lead and zinc also gained. Crude oil fell for a fourth day in five in New York on concern that the recovery in fuel demand may stall in the U.S., the biggest energy-consuming nation. Oil pared yesterday’s 1 percent gain as U.S. equities dropped. Prices fell by as much as 0.8 percent to $71.36 a barrel today as the dollar gained, eroding the investment appeal of commodities. To contact the reporters for this story: Linus Chua at lchua@bloomberg.net; Saeromi Shin in Seoul at sshin15@bloomberg.net

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