By Adam Haigh and Shani Raja
Oct. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks rose, driving the MSCI Asia Pacific Index to a 13-month high, after a decline in China’s exports slowed, Australian consumer sentiment jumped and Intel Corp. forecast sales that beat analyst estimates.
PetroChina Co. climbed 3.1 percent in Shanghai as crude oil prices gained. JB Hi-Fi Ltd., the best-performing retailer in Australia’s benchmark index this year, rose 4.8 percent as it affirmed its revenue target. Lenovo Group Ltd., China’s biggest maker of personal computers, jumped 4.8 percent after Intel’s forecast, which followed the close of U.S. trading.
“The data coming out is clearly pointing to a global recovery,” said Nader Naeimi, a Sydney-based strategist at AMP Capital Investors, which manages about $75 billion. “The export numbers tell us that demand even outside China is picking up. The recovery is broadening into the developed world.”
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 0.7 percent to 119.86 at 1:44 p.m. in Tokyo, set to close at the highest level since Sept. 8, 2008. The gauge has climbed 70 percent from a more than five-year low on March 9 amid increasing signs stimulus measures around the world are reviving the global economy.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 0.4 percent to 10,040.69 as producer prices fell for a ninth month. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. sank 3.8 percent, leading declines by the country’s financial shares. Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group Holdings Inc. lost 4.1 percent after JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded the stock.
China Exports
China’s Shanghai Composite Index climbed 2.1 percent after the nation’s exports declined at the slowest pace in nine months. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 1.4 percent. South Korea’s Kospi Index rose 1.1 percent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index advanced 1.1 percent.
Futures on the U.S. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed 0.9 percent today as Intel’s forecast indicated computer demand is picking up. The S&P 500 slipped 0.3 percent yesterday, as revenue from Johnson & Johnson, the world’s largest health- products company, missed analysts’ estimates.
Better-than-estimated economic and earnings figures have driven the seven-month stock rally, lifting the average price of companies in the MSCI Asia Pacific Index to 23 times estimated earnings from 14.3 times at the start of 2009.
Chinese customs bureau data today showed overseas shipments dropped 15.2 percent last month from a year earlier, less than a 23.4 percent slide in August.
Oil Prices
“The export figure is better than expected,” said Zhang Xiuqi, a Shanghai-based strategist at China International Fund Management Co., which oversees about $10.2 billion. “Stocks have got a boost from that.”
PetroChina, the nation’s biggest oil company, climbed 3.1 percent to 13.53 yuan after crude oil for November delivery gained as much as 1.1 percent to $74.96 a barrel in after-hours trading. China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., the second largest, rose 3.8 percent to 12.19 yuan.
In Sydney, Woolworths Ltd., Australia’s largest retailer, rose 1.6 percent to A$29.32. Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd., the country’s biggest furniture and electrical retailer, increased 1.8 percent to A$4.62.
An index of Australian consumer sentiment gained 1.7 percent in October, according to a Westpac Banking Corp. and Melbourne Institute survey, adding to optimism the central bank’s unexpected decision last week to boost interest rates won’t erode household spending.
New Outlets
JB Hi-Fi added 4.8 percent to A$19.38 after affirming its sales forecast. Chief Executive Officer Richard Uechtritz today said he will open 22 new outlets this financial year, up from a previous estimate of 18, bringing the store network to 144 in Australia and New Zealand.
Lenovo jumped 4.8 percent to HK$4.40. Samsung Electronics Co., Asia’s biggest maker of chips, gained 1.9 percent to 771,000 won in Seoul, while Hynix Semiconductor Inc. rose 1.5 percent to 20,900 won.
Intel, the world’s biggest chipmaker, said after the close of U.S. trading that fourth-quarter sales will likely be $9.7 billion to $10.5 billion, compared with the $9.5 billion average estimate in a Bloomberg survey.
Gross margin, the percentage of sales remaining after the costs of production, was 58 percent in the third quarter, the company said, compared with its prediction of about 53 percent. Intel shares jumped 4.3 percent in after-hours trading.
“The Intel result has been very encouraging,” AMP’s Naiemi said. “Earnings are picking up, but people are waiting to see even more tangible evidence.”
Biggest Drag
Mitsubishi UFJ sank 3.8 percent to 482 yen, the biggest single drag on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index. Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance declined 4.1 percent to 2,210 yen after Natsumu Tsujino, a JPMorgan analyst, cut the stock to “neutral” from “overweight.”
Japan’s producer prices fell for a ninth month as oil traded lower than last year’s levels and demand for materials waned. The costs companies pay for energy and unfinished goods declined 7.9 percent in September from a year earlier after sliding a record 8.5 percent, the Bank of Japan said today in Tokyo.
To contact the reporters for this story: Shani Raja in Sydney at sraja4@bloomberg.net; Adam Haigh in Hong Kong at ahaigh1@bloomberg.net.
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