Asian Stocks Gain as Obama Wins Presidency; Treasuries Drop

By Kyung Bok Cho and Chan Tien Hin
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Nov. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks gained, lifting the benchmark index to a three-week high, as Barack Obama beat John McCain for the U.S. presidency. Treasuries declined.

Toyota Motor Corp., which gets the biggest portion of its sales from North America, added 8.1 percent amid speculation the new president will introduce measures to overcome a recession in an economy reeling from the credit crisis. Obama has urged Congress to pass an economic stimulus bill immediately after the election. BHP Billiton Ltd. rose 8.5 percent after oil soared 10 percent and metals prices climbed. Mizuho Financial Group Inc. surged 15 percent on signs credit markets are thawing out.

Obama ``will attempt to change the way the U.S. does business and how it conducts itself with the rest of the world,'' said Raymond Tang, who oversees $5.8 billion as chief investment officer at CIMB-Principal Asset Management Bhd. in Kuala Lumpur. ``We wait with bated breath. It's a whole new world and a new fantastic point of view.''

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 4.1 percent to 93.94 as of 2:08 p.m. in Tokyo, paring its slump this year to 40 percent. All but one of the measure's 10 industry groups rose. Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 3 percent to 9,388.

All markets open for trading advanced, except in Taiwan. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 5.7 percent, led by PCCW Ltd., after the company's two largest shareholders said they would make a $1.9 billion bid to buy out other investors.

MSCI's Asian index is set to complete a three-day, 9.3 percent advance amid efforts in the region to ease the economic fallout from the global financial crisis. Australia and India cut interest rates while South Korea pledged to pump $10.8 billion into its economy.

Investor Sentiment

The Asian index is now valued at 1.3 times the value of net assets. It fell below book value on Oct. 27, when the gauge dropped to the lowest since 2003. The average for the past year was 1.7 times, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index were little changed after earlier dropping 0.7 percent. The S&P 500 climbed 4.1 percent yesterday, the biggest presidential election day rally in 24 years. Voting concluded during Asian trading hours today for the race between Democrat Obama and Republican McCain.

Obama crossed the requisite threshold of 270 Electoral College votes needed to claim the White House when television networks declared him the winner in the state of California. Treasuries due in 2010 fell the most in almost two weeks as a gain in Asian stocks and declining money-market rates increased demand for higher-yielding assets.

``The U.S. presidential election can change investment sentiment,'' said Roger Groebli, Singapore-based head of financial market analysis at LGT Capital Management, which oversees about $20 billion. ``The new president can't work miracles, but maybe he'll open the gateway to change.''

`Urgent Action'

Obama will face a U.S. economy battered by declining corporate profits and the highest unemployment in five years. Concern that $680 billion in bank writedowns will halt growth pushed the S&P 500 down 17 percent last month, the most since 1987. The MSCI Asia Pacific slumped 20 percent in October.

Toyota, Japan's largest automaker, climbed 8.1 percent to 4,160 yen. Honda Motor Co., which gets more than half its sales from North America, added 11 percent to 2,675 yen in Tokyo. Hyundai Motor Co., which ships three out of five of its cars overseas, gained 0.9 percent to 55,700 won in Seoul.

Obama has proposed a $175 billion package that includes checks for consumers, a tax credit for job creation and spending on public works such as school repairs, roads and bridges. ``We face an immediate economic emergency that requires urgent action,'' he said in outlining the plan last month.

PCCW Surges

BHP, the world's biggest mining company and Australia's largest oil producer, gained 8.5 percent to A$31.60. Inpex Corp., Japan's biggest oil explorer, jumped 15 percent to 666,000 yen. Korea Zinc Co., the world's second-biggest zinc refiner, surged 6.8 percent to 71,000 won in Seoul.

Crude oil jumped 10 percent to $70.53 a barrel yesterday in New York, the biggest gain since Sept. 22. A measure of six metals traded on the London Metal Exchange rose 4.5 percent.

SembCorp Marine Ltd., the world's second-biggest builder of oil rigs, climbed 11 percent to S$2.14 in Singapore. The company said third-quarter profit increased 73 percent from a year earlier on demand for offshore rigs and ship repairs.

Mizuho, Japan's second-biggest bank by revenue, climbed 15 percent to 285,200 yen. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., the largest, added 9.1 percent to 684 yen.

The cost of borrowing dollars in London fell to the lowest level in almost four years as central banks worldwide injected cash and cut interest rates. The London interbank offered rate, or Libor, for one-month loans slid 18 basis points to 2.18 percent yesterday, the lowest level since November 2004, and the 17th straight decline.

PCCW, Hong Kong's biggest phone carrier, jumped 29 percent to HK$3.75, the biggest gain since December 1999. Chairman Richard Li and China Network Communications Group Corp. offered to take the company private for HK$14.9 billion ($1.9 billion), PCCW said yesterday.

To contact the reporter for this story: Kyung Bok Cho in Seoul at kcho7@bloomberg.net; Chan Tien Hin in Kuala Lumpur thchan@bloomberg.net.