Asian Stocks Rise to Two-Week High on U.S. Manufacturing; Ping An Climbs
Asian Stocks, Won Climb After IMF Forecast
Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 1.2 percent, South Korea’s Kospi Index gained 0.4 percent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index advanced 0.8 percent.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 1.2 percent, South Korea’s Kospi Index gained 0.4 percent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index advanced 0.8 percent. Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg
Sept. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Ashvin Chotai, managing director at Intelligence Automotive Asia Ltd., talks about the outlook for the auto industry in China and Japan. He speaks with Mark Barton on Bloomberg Television's "Countdown." (Source: Bloomberg)
Asian stocks rose, lifting the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index to a two-week high, as faster-than-estimated growth in U.S. manufacturing supported confidence in global economic growth.
Sony Corp., an electronics maker that derives 22 percent of its sales from the U.S., rose 2.2 percent in Tokyo. Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. gained 2.7 percent in Hong Kong on plans to merge its bank unit with Shenzhen Development Bank Co. GS Yuasa Corp., a Japanese car battery maker, gained 5.7 percent after Credit Suisse Group AG upgraded the stock. Jiangxi Copper Co. gained 2.8 percent in Hong Kong as commodity prices advanced.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 1 percent to 119.26 as of 7:23 p.m. in Tokyo, the highest level since Aug. 19. The gauge advanced 1.3 percent yesterday after reports showed China’s manufacturing and Australia’s gross domestic product grew faster than economists estimated.
“The U.S. manufacturing data served to allay fears of a double-dip recession,” said Tim Schroeders, who helps manage about $1 billion at Pengana Capital Ltd. in Melbourne. “Yesterday’s manufacturing report out of China was better than expected and Australia’s buoyant GDP data also served to build investor confidence.”
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 1.5 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index jumped 1.2 percent and Taiwan’s Taiex Index climbed 0.7 percent. South Korea’s Kospi Index rose 0.6 percent. China’s Shanghai Composite Index increased 1.3 percent as automakers advanced on higher car sales.
‘Leading Indicator’
Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost 0.2 percent. The index climbed 3 percent yesterday, the biggest gain since July 7, after the ISM’s factory index rose to a three-month high of 56.3 in August. Readings greater than 50 signal growth, and the figure was projected to drop to 52.8, according to the median forecast of economists in a Bloomberg News survey.
Sony rose 2.2 percent to 2,427 yen. In Sydney, James Hardie Industries SE, the biggest seller of home siding in the U.S., gained 0.6 percent to A$5.28, while Billabong International Ltd., the world’s biggest publicly traded surfwear maker, climbed 2.2 percent to A$7.88.
“Manufacturing is a good leading indicator,” said Matt Riordan, who helps manage about $5 billion at Paradice Investment Management in Sydney. “An increase shows manufacturers are receiving good signals from their customers. If higher levels can be maintained, it will ultimately feed through to better employment, which then leads to a cycle of economic improvement.”
Weaker Yen
In Tokyo, Honda Motor Corp. advanced 1.9 percent to 2,859 yen and Nissan Motor Corp. jumped 3 percent to 664 yen. The two companies get more than a third of sales from North America.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index has declined 2.6 percent from a three-month high on Aug. 6 as the yen’s advance to a 15-year high against the dollar and disappointing U.S. data fueled global growth concerns. U.S. government reports showed purchases of existing houses plunged by a record 27 percent in July, while orders for durable goods increased less than forecast in the same month.
Stocks on the MSCI gauge are valued at an average 13.6 times estimated earnings, compared with 12.9 times for the S&P 500 Index and 11.6 times for the Stoxx Europe 600 Index.
In Hong Kong, Ping An gained 2.7 percent to HK$66.10, trading for the first time in the city since June 29. The insurer, China’s second largest, will pay 29.1 billion yuan ($4.3 billion) for a stake that will give it control of Shenzhen Development Bank. Shares of Shenzhen Development Bank rose 3.9 percent to 18.19 yuan.
Raw-Material Producers
GS Yuasa climbed 5.7 percent to 559 yen, extending yesterday’s 6.9 percent surge. Credit Suisse Group AG raised the stock to “outperform” from “neutral.” Phison Electronics Corp. surged 6.9 percent to NT$146.5 in Taipei trading after Morgan Stanley raised the stock to “equal-weight” from “underweight.”
Raw-material producers advanced after the London Metal Exchange Index of six metals including aluminum and copper advanced 2.3 percent yesterday. Three-month copper futures on the LME gained as much as 0.5 percent today and traded near a four-month high. Crude-oil futures rose 2.8 percent yesterday in New York, its biggest gain since Aug. 2.
Jiangxi Copper, China’s largest producer of the metal, gained 2.4 percent to HK$17.58 in Hong Kong. BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s largest mining company, rose 1.1 percent to A$38.32. Rio Tinto Ltd., the world’s third-biggest mining company, climbed 1.2 percent to A$73.12. Inpex Corp., Japan’s No. 1 oil explorer, increased 3 percent to 400,500 yen.
Chinese automakers advanced after passenger-car sales grew 59 percent in August, more than three times July’s pace, the China Automotive Technology & Research Center said yesterday.
SAIC Motor Corp., China’s biggest carmaker, climbed 8.9 percent to 17.50 yuan in Shanghai. FAW Car Co., which makes passenger cars with Volkswagen AG, surged 10 percent to 18.36 yuan. Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., the Chinese partner of Ford Motor Co. and Mazda Motor Corp., jumped 6.4 percent to 10.98 yuan.
To contact the reporters on this story: Jonathan Burgos in Singapore at jburgos4@bloomberg.net.
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