Asian stocks advanced for the first time in five days as Greece moved closer to accepting a bailout and the European Central Bankunexpectedly lowered interest rates, reducing concern that the debt crisis will cause a credit crunch.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. (8306), Japan’s biggest publicly traded lender, gained 1.8 percent in Tokyo as Greece scrapped a referendum on Europe’s bailout package. Komatsu Ltd. (6301), Asia’s biggest maker of construction equipment by market value, surged 6.3 percent after a report showed orders at American factories unexpectedly increased in September. BHP Billion Ltd., the world’s largest mining company, jumped 3.6 percent as metal and oil futures rose.
“There’s less risk today because people are little less concerned that Greece will run on its own direction,” Michael Vogelzang, chief investment officer at Boston Advisors LLC, told Bloomberg Television. “It sounds like there is some progress and the markets moved up. We think the ECB moves were helpful. It’s better to aggressively attack these issues than sit idly by.”
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index increased 2.3 percent to 120.07 as of 10:44 a.m. in Tokyo, snapping four days of losses. The measure is heading for a 3.7 percent decline this week, the most since Sept. 23. Stocks tumbled in the last four days after Prime Minister George Papandreou announced on Oct. 31 a parliamentary confidence vote and his desire to hold a referendum on Europe’s rescue pact.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 1.4 percent as it resumed trading following a holiday yesterday. South Korea’s Kospi Index climbed 2.8 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 jumped 2.3 percent.
‘Doves Increasing’
Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost 0.2 percent today. In New York, the index climbed 1.9 percent yesterday, as ECB officials unanimously lowered benchmark interest rateby 25 basis points to 1.25 percent.
“The ECB cut interest rates and the doves are increasing in the U.S. Federal Reserve Board,” said Juichi Wako, a senior strategist at Tokyo-based Nomura Holdings Inc. “Expectations that monetary policies in Europe and the U.S. will be further relaxed would boost stock markets. We still don’t know Greece will accept Europe’s bailout plan so we need to determine this point.”
Financial stocks were the biggest contributors to the MSCI Asia Pacific Index’s advance today after Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos said the nation won’t hold a referendum.
A gauge of raw material producers led the advance among the 10 industry groups in the Asian benchmark index after a gauge of six metals including copper and aluminum rose for a second day in London yesterday. Crude oil for December delivery gained 1.7 percent in New York.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index declined 15 percent this year through yesterday, compared with a 0.3 percent gain by theS&P 500and a 12 percent loss by the Stoxx Europe 600 Index. Stocks in the Asian benchmark were valued at 12.5 times estimated earnings on average, compared with 12.7 times for the S&P 500 and 10.4 times for the Stoxx 600.
(source: Bloomberg)
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04/11/2011 02:21:26 PM | 