By Kana Nishizawa and Satoshi Kawano
April 23 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks rose for the fourth week in five as U.S. housing starts gained and companies reported earnings that beat estimates, boosting confidence in global growth.
James Hardie Industries SE, the largest seller of home siding in the U.S., jumped 4.2 percent in Sydney. Hynix Semiconductor Inc., the second-largest computer memory chipmaker, surged 7.2 percent in Seoul. ZTE Corp., China?s second-biggest maker of mobile-phone equipment, gained 2.5 percent after its first-quarter profit rose. Inpex Corp., Japan?s largest oil and gas explorer, jumped 3.4 percent after commodity prices rose.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 2.2 percent to 138.83 this week, the biggest weekly gain since March. The gauge fell last week as China?s inflation rose faster than estimated and the International Monetary Fund cut growth forecasts for the U.S. and Japan.
?U.S. companies, especially tech stocks, are doing well, and that?s helping to instill confidence,? said Mitsushige Akino, who oversees about $600 million in assets in Tokyo at Ichiyoshi Investment Management Co. ?Investors are looking to take a little bit more risk.?
Stock markets in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka were closed April 22 for holidays.
Nikkei Gains
Australia?s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 1.8 percent this week, while Singapore?s Straits Times Index gained 1.3 percent. Japan?s Nikkei 225 Stock Average increased 1 percent, and Hong Kong?s Hang Seng Index rose 0.5 percent. China?s Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index slid 1.3 percent on concern the government will tighten monetary policy to rein in inflation.
James Hardie rose 4.2 percent to A$6.20 in Sydney after the U.S. Commerce Department said housing starts increased 7.2 percent in March from the previous month. Work began on 549,000 homes, exceeding the 520,000 median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.
?The economy is in a sustainable recovery,? said Jeffrey Saut, chief investment strategist at Raymond James & Associates in St. Petersburg, Florida, who helps manage $275 billion. ?Earnings are going to continue to surprise on the plus side.?
U.S. companies reported higher-than-expected earnings and forecasts, fueling optimism the world?s largest economy is headed for recovery. Intel, the biggest chipmaker, said revenue will be $12.8 billion, plus or minus $500 million, in the second quarter. That compares with the average analysts? projection of $11.9 billion.
Tech Shares
Apple Inc., the world?s largest technology company by market value, reported net income almost doubled to $5.99 billion, or $6.40 a share, in the fiscal second quarter, exceeding the average estimates of $5.39 a share in a Bloomberg survey of analysts.
In Asia, Hynix Semiconductor surged 7.2 percent to 36,600 won this week in Seoul. Tokyo Electron Ltd., Japan?s biggest producer of chipmaking equipment, jumped 5 percent to 4,605 yen in Tokyo. Foxconn Technology Co., which makes casings for Apple computers, surged 13 percent to NT$134 in Taipei.
China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd., the nation?s second-largest mobile phone company, surged 7.5 percent to HK$16.12 in Hong Kong. China?s newly added third-generation mobile phone users rose 27.5 percent in the first quarter compared with a year earlier, according to a statement from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
Oil and Metals
ZTE gained 2.5 percent to HK$29.15 after reporting a 16 percent gain in first-quarter profit as sales of handsets increased in the U.S. and Europe.
Commodity companies gained as oil and metal prices increased. Inpex rose 3.4 percent to 617,000 yen in Tokyo. Woodside Petroleum Ltd., Australia?s second-biggest oil and gas producer, rose 2.7 percent in Sydney. Jiangxi Copper Co., China?s No. 1 producer of the metal, jumped 4 percent to HK$27.30 in Hong Kong.
Crude for June delivery climbed about 2 percent in New York this week through April 21, while the London Metal Exchange Index of six metals including copper and aluminum surged 2.1 percent.
?The risk trade is back, on the back of the growth story and higher commodity prices,? said Gavin Parry, managing director of Parry International Trading Ltd. in Hong Kong.
--With assistance from Rita Nazareth in New York. Editors: Jason Clenfield, Paul Tighe
To contact the reporters on this story: Kana Nishizawa in Tokyo at knishizawa5@bloomberg.net; Satoshi Kawano in Tokyo at skawano1@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Gentle at ngentle2@bloomberg.net
latest finance news latest investing news business economics finance
No comments:
Post a Comment