Asian Stocks, U.S. Futures Advance as Governments Back Banks

By Kyung Bok Cho and Eric Martin

Oct. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks advanced after the worst week on record and U.S. index futures gained as Australia, Europe and the U.S. stepped up measures to bolster the global financial system.

Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. climbed 10 percent after the two countries said they will guarantee bank deposits. Woori Finance Holdings Co. gained 6.3 percent after European leaders agreed to guarantee new bank debt and use taxpayer money to support distressed lenders. The Federal Reserve will ``consider every option'' to restore confidence, Dallas Fed president Richard W. Fisher said yesterday.

The MSCI Asia Pacific excluding Japan Index rose 4 percent to 264.15 as of 8:14 a.m. in Hong Kong, following last week's 20 percent slump. Japan is shut today for a holiday. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose as much as 6.1 percent, the most since October 1992. South Korea's Kospi added 3.4 percent. Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures advanced 4.1 percent.

``When we say stabilize the financial system, we're talking about money flowing, banks lending,'' said Quincy Krosby, who helps manage about $380 billion as chief investment strategist at the Hartford in Hartford, Connecticut. ``That's what the market is waiting for.''


U.S. stocks fell on Oct. 10 in volatile trading, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average swinging the most in its history. The S&P 500 dropped 18 percent last week, its worst drop since 1933.

To contact the reporter for this story: Kyung Bok Cho in Seoul at kcho7@bloomberg.net; Eric Martin in New York at emartin21@bloomberg.net.