By Shani Raja and Jonathan Burgos
May 29 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks rose and were poised for the longest streak of monthly gains since the credit crisis began in 2007, as a better-than-forecast report on Japanese industrial production lifted mining and energy stocks.
BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s biggest mining company and Australia’s top oil producer, gained 2.3 percent as copper prices rose on the Japanese report. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. added 4.8 percent after commodity-shipping fees climbed to an eight-month high. Bank of China Ltd., the nation’s third-largest bank, climbed 3.4 percent in Hong Kong after Deutsche Bank AG recommended investors buy the stock.
“People are anticipating a recovery and demand for commodities going up on the back of that.” said Matt Riordan, who helps manage about $3.2 billion at Paradice Investment Management in Sydney. “Things are getting less worse. It’s still going to be a rocky road, and there’s always the risk of some sort of shock to the negative.”
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 0.6 percent to 100.8 as of 1:02 p.m. in Tokyo. The gauge rose 1.5 percent this week, taking its rally from a five-year low on March 9 to 43 percent.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index increased 1.7 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 0.5 percent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 0.1 percent as gains in the yen after the production report dimmed exporters’ earnings prospects.
MSCI’s Asian index has climbed 11 percent in May, its third month of gains and the longest winning streak since Bear Stearns Cos. filed for bankruptcy protection in July 2007 for two hedge funds. India’s Reliance Infrastructure Ltd. and Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. surged more than 70 percent this month, leading gains on the gauge amid speculation the government’s election victory will accelerate policies to boost economic growth.
Increased Output
In Sydney, Commonwealth Bank of Australia rose 2.4 percent after the country’s bank lending increased. Singapore’s Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd. gained 2.3 percent as the Business Times reported the company received a takeover bid. AirAsia Bhd. climbed 4 percent in Kuala Lumpur after first- quarter profit jumped.
Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost 0.1 percent. The gauge climbed 1.5 percent yesterday as oil prices jumped and a rebound in 10-year Treasuries eased concern record government debt sales will trigger higher borrowing costs.
Copper futures in New York gained as much as 1 percent today after Japan’s Trade Ministry said industrial production advanced 5.2 percent last month from March. Economists had estimated a 3.3 percent increase. Companies said they planned to increase output in May and June as well, the report showed.
‘More Confidence’
U.S. reports this week added to confidence the worst global slowdown since World War II is easing. The Conference Board’s index of consumer confidence showed sentiment surged to the highest since September. Durable goods orders gained 1.9 percent in April, more than some economists expected. Economists also upgraded their forecasts for Chinese economic growth.
BHP rose 2.3 percent to A$34.80. Mitsui & Co., a trading company that gets more than half its profit from commodities, gained 1.8 percent to 1,219 yen.
Toshiba Corp., Japan’s biggest chipmaker, climbed 2.6 percent to 357 yen after NHK television said the company will raise output of flash memory chips.
“The market is gaining more confidence as we haven’t seen bad economic news lately,” said Yoji Takeda, who manages $1.1 billion at RBC Investment (Asia) Ltd. in Hong Kong.
Asian stocks were poised to rise for the fourth time in five weeks as speculation the worst of the recession is over boosted retailers, mining companies and banks. Hong Kong-based property developers had three of the six biggest advances in the MSCI Asia index. Guangzhou R&F Properties Ltd., Sino Land Co. and Shimao Property Holdings Ltd. gained more than 20 percent.
Baltic Dry
The index’s climb since March has driven the average valuation of its companies to 1.4 times the book value of assets, 17 percent higher than at the end of 2008.
Inpex Corp., Japan’s largest oil explorer, climbed 6.8 percent to 774,000 yen. Woodside Petroleum Ltd., Australia’s No. 2 oil company, added 1.4 percent to A$43.58.
Crude oil rose to a six-month high yesterday after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries decided to leave production quotas unchanged. Crude for July delivery rose to $65.08 a barrel in New York, the highest settlement since Nov. 5.
Mitsui O.S.K. jumped 4.8 percent to 674 yen. The Baltic Dry Index, which measures the cost of shipping commodities, gained 4.2 percent yesterday to the highest since Sept. 29.
Pacific Basin Shipping Ltd., which operates bulk cargo ships, surged 12 percent to HK$5.41 in Hong Kong.
Mounting Losses
Bank of China climbed 3.4 percent to HK$3.34. The stock was upgraded to “buy” from “hold” by Deutsche Bank AG on expectation its foray into the international yuan settlement business will boost earnings.
Finance companies accounted for 36 percent of the MSCI Asia Pacific’s advance today. The group is the third-worst performing of 10 industry gauges in the past year as losses from the credit crisis since the start of 2007 swelled to almost $1.5 trillion.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the nation’s second-biggest bank by market value, rose 2.4 percent to A$34.78. Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. climbed 3.3 percent to A$15.88.
Loans provided by banks and other finance companies climbed 0.1 percent in April from the previous month, according to the Reserve Bank of Australia.
Chartered, the world’s third-largest contract chipmaker, gained 2.3 percent to S$2.23. Abu Dhabi’s Advanced Technology Investment Co. offered to buy Chartered shares from Temasek Holdings Pte, which owns a stake of about 60 percent, the Business Times said. Chartered denied the report.
AirAsia, Southeast Asia’s largest low-cost airline, climbed 4 percent to 1.30 ringgit. Profit at Malaysian airline climbed 26 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier to 203.2 million ringgit ($58 million), the company said late yesterday.
Demand in the second quarter “looks good” and the airline won’t slow down its expansion, Chief Executive Officer Tony Fernandes said in a Bloomberg Television interview today.
To contact the reporters for this story: Shani Raja in Sydney at sraja4@bloomberg.net; Jonathan Burgos in Singapore at jburgos4@bloomberg.net.
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