Asian stocks advance as oil climbs
Friday, 29 June 2007
SINGAPORE, June 28 (Bloomberg): Asian stocks rebounded from a two- week low, led by energy producers and Japanese exporters, after crude oil prices advanced and the yen halted a three-day climb.
Cnooc Ltd., China's largest offshore explorer, gained for the first time in six days. Toyota Motor Corp. advanced after Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Nomura Securities Co. said a weaker yen would boost automakers' profits.
LG.Philips LCD Co. rose after Woori Investment & Securities Co. lifted its share price estimate. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. gained after Oracle Corp. predicted higher sales than analysts forecast.
``I don't think Asia needs to worry too much about earnings,'' said Hugh Young, who oversees $35 billion as managing director at Aberdeen Asset Asia Ltd. in Singapore.
Energy shares posted the biggest gains on the Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index. The measure climbed 0.6 per cent to 151.77 at 5:30 p.m. in Tokyo, after yesterday posting its lowest close since June 14.
China's CSI 300 Index plunged 4.5 per cent, the region's biggest drop. Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 0.5 per cent to 17,932.27, halting a four-day, 2.1 per cent loss. Benchmarks rose elsewhere in Asia, except for Indonesia, Malaysia and New Zealand.
HSBC Holdings Plc climbed in Hong Kong after the chief executive of Merrill Lynch & Co. said he sees few risks of widespread turmoil in credit markets as a result of rising defaults on US subprime mortgages.
US stocks rose yesterday for the first time in four days, helping the Standard & Poor's 500 Index climb 0.9 per cent.
Cnooc jumped 4.1 per cent to HK$8.81, snapping a five-day, 7.3 per cent slump. PetroChina Co., the nation's largest oil explorer, climbed 2.5 per cent to HK$11.62. Woodside Petroleum Ltd., Australia's second-largest producer, added 3 per cent to A$45.75, while BHP Billiton Ltd., the largest, rose 2 per cent to A$34.89.
Crude oil for August delivery gained 1.8 per cent yesterday to $68.97 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was recently at $69.11. Futures dropped 2 per cent on June 26, the biggest loss in more than two weeks.
Toyota, Japan's largest automaker, added 0.9 per cent to 7,620 yen, its biggest advance since June 15. Goldman Sachs raised its rating on the stock to ``buy'' from ``neutral,'' while Nomura raised its rating on the industry to ``bullish'' from ``neutral.''
Japan's currency weakened to as low as 123.36 per dollar from 122.67 at yesterday's close of trading in Tokyo. The yen rose the most in 10 weeks against the dollar yesterday, completing three days of gains. Against the euro, it fell to 165.97 from 164.83 yesterday.
Honda Motor Co., Japan's No. 2 automaker by sales, climbed 2.1 per cent to 4,420 yen, the most since June 11. Nissan Motor Co., the third biggest, added 1.4 per cent to 1,301 yen. The shares also advanced after a report today said vehicle output in Japan by the country's 12 automakers rose 6.3 per cent in May.
Nintendo Co., whose Wii game console is outselling rivals in the US, jumped 2.2 per cent to 45,050 yen.
The yen has lost 4.3 per cent against the dollar since the start of Japan's financial year in April, the worst performance among the 73 currencies tracked by Bloomberg, and 5.1 per cent versus the euro. Most companies expected the currency to climb to about 114 per dollar this year, according to the Bank of Japan's latest Tankan business confidence report.
Cnooc Ltd., China's largest offshore explorer, gained for the first time in six days. Toyota Motor Corp. advanced after Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Nomura Securities Co. said a weaker yen would boost automakers' profits.
LG.Philips LCD Co. rose after Woori Investment & Securities Co. lifted its share price estimate. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. gained after Oracle Corp. predicted higher sales than analysts forecast.
``I don't think Asia needs to worry too much about earnings,'' said Hugh Young, who oversees $35 billion as managing director at Aberdeen Asset Asia Ltd. in Singapore.
Energy shares posted the biggest gains on the Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index. The measure climbed 0.6 per cent to 151.77 at 5:30 p.m. in Tokyo, after yesterday posting its lowest close since June 14.
China's CSI 300 Index plunged 4.5 per cent, the region's biggest drop. Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 0.5 per cent to 17,932.27, halting a four-day, 2.1 per cent loss. Benchmarks rose elsewhere in Asia, except for Indonesia, Malaysia and New Zealand.
HSBC Holdings Plc climbed in Hong Kong after the chief executive of Merrill Lynch & Co. said he sees few risks of widespread turmoil in credit markets as a result of rising defaults on US subprime mortgages.
US stocks rose yesterday for the first time in four days, helping the Standard & Poor's 500 Index climb 0.9 per cent.
Cnooc jumped 4.1 per cent to HK$8.81, snapping a five-day, 7.3 per cent slump. PetroChina Co., the nation's largest oil explorer, climbed 2.5 per cent to HK$11.62. Woodside Petroleum Ltd., Australia's second-largest producer, added 3 per cent to A$45.75, while BHP Billiton Ltd., the largest, rose 2 per cent to A$34.89.
Crude oil for August delivery gained 1.8 per cent yesterday to $68.97 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was recently at $69.11. Futures dropped 2 per cent on June 26, the biggest loss in more than two weeks.
Toyota, Japan's largest automaker, added 0.9 per cent to 7,620 yen, its biggest advance since June 15. Goldman Sachs raised its rating on the stock to ``buy'' from ``neutral,'' while Nomura raised its rating on the industry to ``bullish'' from ``neutral.''
Japan's currency weakened to as low as 123.36 per dollar from 122.67 at yesterday's close of trading in Tokyo. The yen rose the most in 10 weeks against the dollar yesterday, completing three days of gains. Against the euro, it fell to 165.97 from 164.83 yesterday.
Honda Motor Co., Japan's No. 2 automaker by sales, climbed 2.1 per cent to 4,420 yen, the most since June 11. Nissan Motor Co., the third biggest, added 1.4 per cent to 1,301 yen. The shares also advanced after a report today said vehicle output in Japan by the country's 12 automakers rose 6.3 per cent in May.
Nintendo Co., whose Wii game console is outselling rivals in the US, jumped 2.2 per cent to 45,050 yen.
The yen has lost 4.3 per cent against the dollar since the start of Japan's financial year in April, the worst performance among the 73 currencies tracked by Bloomberg, and 5.1 per cent versus the euro. Most companies expected the currency to climb to about 114 per dollar this year, according to the Bank of Japan's latest Tankan business confidence report.