Most Asian Stocks Gain, led by Mitsubishi UFJ; Sony Declines

By Chua Kong Ho and Kyung Bok Cho

Sept. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Most Asian stocks rose, led by financial companies, as a share sale by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. eased concern that the global credit crisis will deepen.

Macquarie Group Ltd. surged 11 percent in Sydney after Warren Buffett'sBerkshire Hathaway Inc. said it will buy $5 billion of Goldman stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. rose 4.2 percent in Tokyo after saying it will purchase as much as 20 percent of Morgan Stanley. Honda Motor Co. and Sony Corp. dropped at least 2 percent on concern demand for cars and consumer electronics will fall as economic growth slows.

``Buffett has given Goldman his seal of approval,'' said Kim Jae Dong, who oversees the equivalent of $2.6 billion as head of equities at SEI Asset Korea Co. in Seoul. ``That has helped lift peoples' worries that the big investment banks would fail, but there's still lingering concern about a recession.''

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index was down 0.1 percent at 116.23 as of 7:40 p.m. in Tokyo. About five stocks gained for every four that fell. The benchmark index dropped as much as 6.9 percent last week after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for bankruptcy, American International Group Inc. was taken over by the U.S. government and Merrill Lynch & Co. sold itself to Bank of America Corp.

Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures rose 1.4 percent today. Goldman, which this week transformed itself from the biggest U.S. securities firm to the fourth-largest bank by assets, advanced 7.8 percent in after-hours trading in New York after saying Berkshire will purchase $5 billion of perpetual preferred shares.

Nikkei, Hang Seng

Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 0.2 percent to 12,115.03. The country's markets were shut yesterday. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 1.2 percent, led by National Australia Bank Ltd., the nation's biggest by assets.

The S&P 500 Index dropped 1.6 percent yesterday, capping a two-day decline of 5.3 percent, as Congress members expressed skepticism about Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's $700 billion bank bailout plan, which Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said is critical for preventing a recession.

The Federal Reserve arranged today to channel $30 billion into the global financial system by opening currency swap lines with four central banks to relieve short-term dollar funding in markets worldwide.

Macquarie, Australia's biggest securities firm, gained 11 percent to A$40, while National Australia Bank advanced 7.3 percent to A$25.60.

Goldman also said it plans to sell at least $2.5 billion of common stock to the public. It will be the firm's first such offering since 2000.

`Cheap Prices'

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., Japan's second-largest listed bank by value, may invest in Goldman's public offering, two people with knowledge of the matter said, declining to be identified before a decision is announced. Kyodo news reported earlier that Sumitomo Mitsui will invest in Goldman. Spokespeople for the banks declined to comment. Sumitomo Mitsui gained 1.2 percent to 684,000 yen.

Mitsubishi UFJ, Japan's largest bank, gained 4.2 percent to 936 yen. The lender said on Sept. 22 it agreed to buy 10 percent to 20 percent of Morgan Stanley, adding that it will start due diligence before determining a final price.

Nomura Holdings Inc., Japan's biggest securities firm, rose 5.2 percent to 1,505 yen after agreeing to pay less than a month's revenue for units of bankrupt Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in Asia and Europe.

``It's smart for Japan's financial institutions to pick up assets at cheap prices and expand overseas,'' said Roger Groebli, Singapore-based head of financial market analysis at LGT Capital Management, which oversees about $20 billion.

Cars, Electronics

MSCI's Asian index has dropped 26 percent this year, as a U.S. housing recession triggered a global credit crisis that has saddled financial companies with more than $520 billion in writedowns and losses, crippled lending and threatened to drag the global economy into a recession.

The Asian benchmark was valued at 13.18 times estimated earnings as of yesterday, the cheapest valuation since Nov. 20, 2007, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Honda, Japan's second-largest automaker, slid 2 percent to 3,430 yen. Toyota Motor Corp., which counts North America as its largest market, fell 1.2 percent to 4,810 yen. Sony, the world's second-largest consumer electronics maker, dropped 2.6 percent to 3,430 yen.

In Hong Kong, China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., Asia's biggest oil refiner, added 2.8 percent to HK$6.66.

Crude oil for November delivery fell 2.5 percent to $106.61 a barrel in New York yesterday and was recently trading at $107.80.

Jiangxi Copper Co., China's second-biggest copper smelter, slumped after the price of the metal fell 3.2 percent, the most since Sept. 5. Jiangxi lost 2.7 percent to HK$8.39 in Hong Kong.

Palm Oil

Sumitomo Chemical Co. declined 5.2 percent to 516 yen, after Deutsche Bank AG lowered its price estimate for the chemicals maker, citing weak demand and a delay in a joint venture.

Plantation stocks declined in Kuala Lumpur after Standard Chartered Plc lowered its 2008 and 2009 price estimates for crude palm oil. IOI Corp., Malaysia's second-biggest oil-palm grower, slid 1.3 percent to 4.5 ringgit.

ZTE Corp., China's second-biggest maker of telephone network equipment, plunged 9.7 percent to HK$27.10, the lowest since March 31. The China Securities Journal reported yesterday ZTE won fewer orders from China Telecommunications Corp. than rival Huawei Technology Co.

Paladin Energy Ltd., the Australian company producing uranium in Namibia, rose 6.5 percent to A$4.62 after more than doubling its estimated ore reserves.

To contact the reporter for this story: Chua Kong Ho in Shanghai at kchua6@bloomberg.netl; Kyung Bok Cho in Seoul at kcho7@bloomberg.net