Asian stocks rose after U.S. jobless claims fell to the lowest level in seven months and the selection of a new Greek premier tempered concern about Europe’s debt crisis, boosting investor demand for riskier assets.
Sony Corp., Japan’s biggest exporter of consumer electronics, rose 1.4 percent. Hynix Semiconductor Inc. (000660) advanced 2.8 percent in Seoul after SK Telecom Co., South Korea’s No. 1 mobile-phone company, offered to buy 20 percent of the world’s second-largest memory-chip maker. Genting Singapore Plc (GENS) slumped 5.9 percent after the casino-resort operator posted earnings that missed analysts’ estimates.
“The news headlines have been all about Europe, and behind the scenes, the U.S. economy has significantly improved with increasing positive economic data,” said Stan Shamu, a strategist at IG Markets in Melbourne. “Some companies with established earnings will get a bit of traction from investors who are looking into gaining a bit of value, but at the same time, the headline risk is still very high.”
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.3 percent to 116.32, as of 10:39 a.m. in Tokyo, with about five shares rising for every three that fell. The gauge is poised for second straight week of decline as Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis stirred political turmoil across the region, with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou both offering to step down.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 (NKY) Stock Average was little changed , erasing gains of as much as 0.8 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.1 percent. South Korea’s Kospi Index increased 1.2 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index advanced 0.7 percent.
U.S. Futures
Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost 0.1 percent today. In New York, the index rose 0.9 percent yesterday after Labor Department figures showed that initial jobless claims fell by 10,000 to 390,000 last week and Greece named Lucas Papademos, the former vice president of the European Central Bank, to lead a unity government.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index declined 16 percent this year through yesterday, compared with a 1.4 percent drop by the S&P 500 and a 15 percent loss by the Stoxx Europe 600 Index. Stocks in the Asian benchmark were valued at 12.6 times estimated earnings on average, compared with 12.5 times for the S&P 500 and 10.2 times for the Stoxx 600.
(source: Bloomberg)
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11/11/2011 10:06:11 AM | 