Asian Stocks Advance on Higher Commodity Prices, Dell Earnings

By Jonathan Burgos and Shani Raja

Aug. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks rose, sending the MSCI Asia Pacific Index to its second weekly advance in three, as increased commodity prices and Dell Inc.’s better-than-estimated profit added to signs that the global economy is recovering.

Inpex Corp., Japan’s largest oil explorer, gained 1.9 percent. Acer Inc., the world’s third-largest computer maker, climbed 3.1 percent. Casio Computer Co. surged 6.9 percent in Tokyo after the Yomiuri newspaper reported the company is merging its mobile phone business with NEC Corp. and Hitachi Ltd. Japanese equities rose before an election that opinion polls suggest will end the ruling coalition’s 50-year hold on power.

“Risk appetite has recovered from the depths that we had in March and people are looking at fundamentals,” said Prasad Patkar, who helps manage about $1.1 billion at Platypus Asset Management in Sydney. “Confidence is there for the right reasons. Economies are stabilizing and things are starting to normalize.”

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 0.4 percent to 113.43 as of 1:52 p.m. in Tokyo, taking its gain this week to 2.5 percent. The gauge has climbed 61 percent from a more than five- year low on March 9 on speculation government stimulus packages and lower borrowing costs will revive the global economy.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 0.3 percent. The country holds parliamentary elections on Aug. 30, in which the opposition Democratic Party of Japan is expected to win by a landslide, newspaper polls show. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party has governed Japan for all but 10 months since 1955.

Shanghai Composite

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 0.4 percent, while South Korea’s Kospi Index added 0.4 percent. Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd., Australia’s biggest electronics retailer, surged 16 percent, while BOC Hong Kong Holdings Ltd., Hong Kong’s second-largest publicly traded bank by market value, climbed 6.1 percent on better-than-estimated earnings.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index dropped 2.5 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.5 percent on concern Chinese measures to curb lending and overcapacity in some industries will slow economic growth. China Cosco Holdings Ltd., Asia’s biggest shipping company by market value, sank 3.8 percent in Shanghai after posting a first-half loss.

Futures on the U.S. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost 0.1 percent. The gauge rose 0.3 percent yesterday as oil futures climbed for the first time in three days with a 1.5 percent gain. Separately, a Commerce Department report showed the U.S. economy contracted at a 1 percent annual rate from April to June, less than the 1.5 percent contraction estimated by economists.

Global Recovery

Signs the global recovery is gaining traction has fueled the MSCI Asia Pacific Index’s rally since March. Malaysia’s gross domestic product shrank less than estimated in the three months to June 30, data released on Aug. 26 show. The Philippine economy expanded in the second quarter at three times the pace expected by economists, the government reported yesterday.

Inpex gained 1.8 percent to 748,000 yen in Tokyo. Woodside Petroleum Ltd., Australia’s second-largest oil producer, added 1.2 percent to A$49.39 in Sydney.

“Investors are putting their money in risk assets such as oil and stocks,” said Kiichi Fujita, a strategist at Nomura Holdings Inc. in Tokyo.

BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s biggest mining company, added 0.5 percent to A$37.82. Copper for September delivery in New York increased 1.7 percent in after-hours trading.

Dell Earnings

Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s largest maker of computer-memory chips, rose 0.5 percent to 771,000 won in Seoul. Dell, the world’s No. 2 maker of personal computers, reported second-quarter sales and profit that beat estimates after the Texas-based company cut manufacturing costs and attracting buyers with low-priced notebooks.

Dell suppliers in Taiwan gained. Quanta Computer Inc., the world’s largest laptop maker, climbed 2.7 percent to NT$69.1. Compal Electronics Inc., the world’s second-largest laptop maker, advanced 1.9 percent to NT$32.60.

Acer climbed 3.1 percent to NT$73. HSBC Holdings Plc upgraded the stock to “neutral” from “underweight” and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its share-price estimate by 19 percent to NT$74.

In Sydney, Harvey Norman surged 16 percent to A$3.71, the most in more than 20 years. The company’s net income of A$214.4 million ($180 million) in the year ended June beat the A$199.3 million average of analyst estimates in a Bloomberg survey.

Beating Estimates

Some 34 percent of the 586 companies in the MSCI Asia Pacific Index that have reported net income since early July have beaten analyst estimates, while 19 percent have missed, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

BOC Hong Kong advanced 6.1 percent to HK$16.04. The bank said yesterday first-half profit fell 5.6 percent to HK$6.69 billion ($863 million). That topped the HK$4.49 billion average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Casio Computer Co., the maker of digital cameras and mobile phones, surged 6.9 percent to 905 yen in Tokyo. Casio, NEC Corp. and Hitachi Ltd. are in talks to merge their mobile-phone businesses by April, the Yomiuri newspaper reported. The venture, of which NEC may own more than a half, would have more than 20 percent of Japan’s mobile-phone market, the newspaper said.

NEC added 0.9 percent to 334 yen. Hitachi gained 1.6 percent to 327 yen.

In Shanghai, China Cosco sank 3.8 percent to 13.82 yuan. The company said it may cancel container-vessel orders after reporting a first-half net loss.

To contact the reporter for this story: Jonathan Burgos in Singapore at jburgos4@bloomberg.net.