Asian stocks gained, driving the benchmark index to its advance sixth in seven days, as reports on economic growth better than expected in Japan and employment in Australia increased confidence in a regional recovery.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Japan's biggest bank, traded, rose 3.7 percent. Westpac Banking Group Ltd., the second largest in Australia
bank
by market value, rose 2.4 percent. BHP Billiton Ltd., the world's largest mining company, rose 1.3 percent in Sydney after copper futures rose to a record yesterday in New York. Innolux Chimei Corp. led declines by Taiwanese manufacturers of flat screen following European Union fines.
"The Asia's growth momentum remains intact," said Pauline Dan, chief investment officer of Hong Kong at Samsung Investment Trust, which oversees about $ 72 billion in assets. "There are still a lot of uncertainties out there. The monetary tightening in China will remain a key risk in the next year, along with geopolitical risks and debt issues in Europe."
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 1 percent to 133.63 as of 17:10 in Tokyo, with five shares rose for every four that declined. The indicator fell 0.6 percent in November after two straight months of gains growing concern that China's measures against inflation, the debt crisis of Europe, and tensions on the Korean peninsula can cool a global economic recovery .
Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average advanced 0.5 percent. Gross domestic product grew at an annualized rate of 4.5 percent in the three months ended September 30, faster than the 3.9 percent reported last month, the Cabinet Office said today. The median forecast of 19 economists surveyed by us was for an expansion of 4.1 percent.
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Australia S & P / ASX 200 rose 0.9 percent. The number of people employed 54,600 won as of October, the statistics office said today. That compares with the median forecast of an increase of 20,000 in a survey of 26 economists. The unemployment rate fell to 5.2 percent from 5.4 percent a month earlier.
South Korea's Kospi index gained 1.7 percent, the biggest increase among benchmark stock indexes in Asia-Pacific region, China and Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.3 percent, the biggest decline. Taiwan TAIEX Index advanced 0.6 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.3 percent.
Future over 500 of Standard & Poor's rose 0.5 percent today. The index rose 0.4 percent yesterday to a maximum of two years, driven by a possible extension of U.S. tax cuts and after American International Group Inc. said it will pay a credit line of the Federal Reserve.
Advance Finance
Financial companies had the second-largest advance among the groups in the MSCI Asia Pacific Index's 10 industry, following information technology stocks. Mitsubishi UFJ rose 3.7 percent to 417 yen. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., No. 2 Bank of Japan, rose 3.5 percent to 2.712 yen. Mizuho Financial Group Inc., the No. 3, rose 2.9 percent to 141 yen.
"Investors already know that increased capital spending in the July-September period would increase the GDP of Japan, but took it as a good direction once the result was announced," said Masaru Hamasaki, who helps oversee about U.S. $ 17 billion as chief strategist at Toyota Asset Management Co. in Tokyo.
In Sydney, Westpac Banking rose 2.4 percent to $ 22.29. National Australia Bank Ltd., the nation's biggest lender to companies, rose 1.6 percent to U.S. $ 24. Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., the third largest bank in Australia by market value, rose 1.6 percent to $ 23.65.
Commodities Ratings
The MSCI Asia Pacific index gained 9.9 percent this year through yesterday, compared with gains of 10 percent for 500 of Standard & Poor's and 8.3 percent of the Stoxx Europe 600 Index. Shares in Asia's benchmark is valued at 14.6 times estimated earnings on average, compared with 14.4 times for the S & P 500 and 12.2 times for the Stoxx 600.
BHP Billiton, also the largest oil producer in Australia, rose 1.3 percent to $ 45.44 in Sydney. OZ Minerals Ltd., one of Australia's copper and gold miner, rose 0.9 percent to $ 1.67. CNOOC Ltd., China's No. 1 producer of offshore oil, increased 1.2 percent to $ 18.14 in Hong Kong in Hong Kong. Inpex Corp., the largest Japanese oil explorer, rose 2.5 percent to 454.000 yen.
The London Metal Exchange index of six metals such as copper and aluminum rose 1.5 percent yesterday to its highest since Nov. 11. Copper futures rose to a record close in New York, while oil rose today for the first time in three days.
Chimei Innolux tumbled 5.3 percent to NT $ 38.30, the second-biggest decline among the more than 1,000 companies in the MSCI index of Asia Pacific. AU Optronics Corp. fell 2.4 percent to NT $ 30.05.
Samsung, TSMC gain
European Union Competition Commission said yesterday that they were fined, Hannstar Display Corp., Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd. and South Korea's LG Display Co. a total of € 648.9 million ($ 864 million).
Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest maker of display screens of liquid crystal-on sales, increased 3.2 percent to ₩ 917 000 in Seoul and was the largest single contributor to the MSCI Asia Pacific index. The company was not fined because it reported the cartel and provided "valuable", said Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia yesterday.
In Taipei, Quanta Computer Inc., the fourth world's largest manufacturer of notebook computers by shipments, increased 4.1 percent to NT $ 63.4 after saying November sales rose 12 percent from the month above.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which is the world's largest maker of chips for contract and morning reports, November sales, rose 2.9 percent to NT $ 70 in Taipei, its highest level since July 2007.
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