Asian Stocks Advance on U.S. Service Report; Mazda, Rio Gain

By Jonathan Burgos and Shani Raja

Oct. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks rose for the first time in four days, led by companies reliant on overseas sales, after U.S. service industries returned to growth following 11 months of contraction and commodity prices gained.

Nissan Motor Co., which got 34 percent of sales from North America last year, gained 2.5 percent. Mazda Motor Corp., Japan’s No. 4 carmaker, jumped 6 percent after narrowing its full-year loss forecast. Rio Tinto Ltd., the world’s third- biggest mining company, climbed 2 percent in Sydney.

“There’ve been a few numbers in the last week or two that were a little bit more disappointing,” said Philip Schwartz, who manages $1.2 billion in New York at ING Investment Management. “But unless the numbers are really disappointing I don’t think there’s a lot of risk to the markets. Weaker economic numbers mean that policy around the world will continue to be very stimulative.”

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 0.6 percent to 114.36 as of 10:28 a.m. in Tokyo. The gauge has rallied 62 percent from a five-year low on March 9 amid better-than-estimated economic data and earnings reports.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 0.1 percent in Tokyo, while New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index rose 0.4 percent. South Korea’s Kospi Index increased 0.1 percent.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 0.6 percent. The nation’s central bank is scheduled to announce its decision on interest rates at 2:30 p.m. Sydney time. The bank will probably leave rates unchanged at 3 percent, according to 19 of 20 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.

Supply Management

Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index were little changed. The gauge rose 1.5 percent in New York yesterday, breaking a four-day losing streak. The Institute for Supply Management said its index of non-manufacturing businesses climbed to 50.9 in September, exceeding the dividing line between expansion and contraction for the first time in a year.

Nissan, Japan’s No. 3 automaker, rose 2.5 percent to 606 yen in Tokyo. Honda Motor Co., which makes 45 percent of its revenue in North America, added 1.5 percent to 2,635 yen. James Hardie Industries NV, the biggest seller of home siding in the U.S., advanced 3.5 percent to A$7.46 in Sydney.

Mazda jumped 6 percent to 196 yen. The company narrowed its full-year loss forecast by 48 percent, citing increasing sales and cost cuts. Separately, Mazda said it will sell as many as 363 million new shares and 96.8 million existing shares it held to raise 96 billion yen ($1.1 billion).

Rio Tinto climbed 2 percent to A$57.98. BHP Billiton Ltd. the world’s biggest mining company, rose 1.4 percent to A$36.83. A gauge of six metals in London added 0.2 percent, ending two days of declines . Oil rose 0.7 percent to $70.41 a barrel in New York yesterday.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 3.8 percent last week, the most since the period ended Aug. 21, on concern its seven-month rally had outpaced the prospects for a revival in the global economy. The average price of companies in the gauge climbed to 1.6 times book value on Sept. 17, up from 1 at the March low. The measure now trades at 1.5 times book.

To contact the reporters for this story: Jonathan Burgos in Singapore at jburgos4@bloomberg.net; Shani Raja in Sydney at sraja4@bloomberg.net.