Asian Stocks Gain for Fourth Day on Easing Oil, Credit Concerns

By Chua Kong Ho

July 24 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks rose for a fourth day after U.S. lawmakers approved a rescue plan for embattled mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and oil retreated.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., the largest Japanese bank, and Commonwealth Bank of Australia gained on speculation the U.S. plan will help stabilize global financial markets. Sony Corp. and Canon Inc. led Japanese exporters higher after the yen weakened against the dollar. Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea's largest carrier, climbed for a fourth day as oil dropped below $125 a barrel for the first time in six weeks yesterday.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.7 percent to 135.76 as of 9:11 a.m. in Tokyo. About five stocks rose for each that declined, with nine of the benchmark's 10 groups advancing.

Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 0.8 percent to 13,412.99 as Toyota Motor Corp., Japan's largest automaker, rose after saying demand in emerging markets drove up vehicle sales.

South Korea's Kospi Index added 1.1 percent, while New Zealand's NZX 50 Index jumped to a one-month high after the central bank cut interest rates for the first time in five years.

The MSCI index has lost 14 percent this year as part of a global slump in equities that erased almost $13 trillion from an October record as oil prices soared and the world's largest banks and securities firms reported more than $467 billion of writedowns and credit losses.

U.S. stocks rallied for a second day, with the Standard & Poor's 500 Index gaining 0.4 percent, as oil retreated and earnings reports from AT&T Inc. and Pfizer Inc. eased concern that the profit slump will worsen. S&P 500 futures were little changed today.

Fannie, Freddie

The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation designed to shore up confidence in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and stem the record surge in mortgage foreclosures, sending the bill to the Senate. The bill gives Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson power to inject capital into Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and provides for a federal agency to insure refinanced home loans.

Oil fell 3.1 percent to $124.44 a barrel yesterday, dropping below $125 for the first time in six weeks, after a U.S. government report showed that fuel stockpiles increased as consumption tumbled to the lowest in more than a year. Crude prices, which have lost 14 percent after topping $145 a barrel on July 14, are little changed today.

To contact the reporters for this story: Chua Kong Ho in Shanghai at kchua6@bloomberg.net;