Asian Stocks Advance on China Industrial Production, U.S. Jobs

By Masaki Kondo and Saeromi Shin

Dec. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Asianstocks rose the most in six days as a larger-than-expected increase in China’s industrial output and a drop in U.S. jobless claims to a one-year low boosted confidence that a recovery is gathering pace.

Fanuc Ltd., a maker of industrial robots that counts Asia as its biggest market, climbed 3.4 percent in Tokyo after Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Co. said demand in China drove up growth. Maanshan Iron & Steel Co. advanced 10 percent in Hong Kong after China’s steel products output surged to a record and as Baosteel Group Corp. raised prices. Nissan Motor Co., which gets 35 percent of sales in North America, climbed 3.9 percent after U.S. reports on jobs and the trade deficit.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.9 percent to 120.18 as of 5:21 p.m. in Tokyo, with three times as many stocks gaining as falling. The gauge is poised to advance less than 0.1 percent this week.

“I continue to believe that Asia will post stronger growth than any other region,” said Christian Jin, a fund manager at HI Asset Management Co. in Seoul, which manages the equivalent of $7.7 billion in assets. “Exports of Asian countries will recover in tandem with a recovery in developed nations, while there’s much to expect from China’s consumption as well.”

The Kospi Index rose 0.3 percent in Seoul after the central bank said South Korea’s gross domestic product will grow next year at a faster pace than previously forecast.

The Shanghai Composite Index dipped 0.2 percent, while the Hang Seng Index added 1 percent in Hong Kong, its first gain since Dec. 3.

Most Since 2003

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 2.5 percent. Mitsubishi Corp., whose alliance with BHP Billiton Ltd. is the world’s biggest coking-coal exporter, surged 5.3 percent.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index has climbed 34 percent this year, set for its biggest annual gain since 2003, on signs government spending and lower interest rates bolstered economies. Yesterday, a government report showed Australian companies added six times more jobs in November than economists had estimated.

Stocks in the benchmark are valued at 22 times estimated earnings, compared with 18 times for the Standard and Poor’s 500 Index in the U.S. and 15 times for the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index in Europe.

China’s industrial production rose 19 percent in November from a year earlier, exceeding the 18 percent estimated by economists. New lending grew month-on-month, the central bank said today, while economists had forecast a decline.

Fanuc, Japan’s biggest maker of industrial robots, climbed 3.4 percent to 8,130 yen, the highest close since Oct. 26, after Mitsubishi UFJ Securities said orders from China remained resilient.

Steel Output

“Emerging markets will continue to lead growth in the world economy next year, and companies that can make money in those markets will remain in the spotlight,” said Yoshinori Nagano, a senior strategist in Tokyo at Daiwa Asset Management Co., which oversees the equivalent of $96 billion.

Maanshan Iron, China’s No. 4 listed steelmaker, gained 10 percent to HK$5.96 in Hong Kong. Xinjiang Ba Yi Iron & Steel Co. advanced 2.6 percent to 14.75 yuan in Shanghai. Mitsubishi, Japan’s biggest trading house, surged 5.3 percent to 2,270 yen.

China’s November steel products output climbed 46 percent from a year ago, the statistics bureau said today. Baosteel, the country’s largest steelmaker, raised benchmark product prices by 8 percent for January delivery, the first increase since September, according to researcher Umetal, citing a notification Baosteel sent to traders.

Stronger Dollar

Futures on the S&P 500 added 0.4 percent. The gauge rose 0.6 percent yesterday in New York after a Labor Department report showed the four-week average number of Americans filing for jobless benefits declined to a one-year low. A separate report showed the trade deficit shrank 7.6 percent in October, while economists had estimated the gap would widen, as a weaker dollar boosted exports in the period.

The dollar strengthened to 88.94 yen today, compared with 87.79 at the 3 p.m. close of stock trading in Tokyo yesterday. A stronger greenback boosts U.S. income at Japanese companies when converted into their home currency.

Nissan, Japan’s No. 3 automaker, jumped 3.9 percent to 728 yen. Sony Corp., an electronics manufacturer that gets 23 percent of its sales from the U.S., added 3.4 percent to 2,575 yen. Bridgestone Corp., the world’s biggest tiremaker, added 3.7 percent to 1,537 yen.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Japan’s largest publicly traded bank, fell 1.5 percent to 455 yen and was the heaviest drag on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index. The company is preparing to sell as much as 1 trillion yen ($11 billion) in shares to bolster equity and will set the price from Dec. 14.

The world’s largest financial companies have reported $1.7 trillion in losses and writedowns since the U.S. subprime- mortgage market collapsed in 2007 and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for bankruptcy in September 2008, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

To contact the reporters for this story: Masaki Kondo in Tokyo at mkondo3@bloomberg.net; Saeromi Shin in Seoul at sshin15@bloomberg.net.