By Jonathan Burgos
Feb. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks rose for a third day, led by materials producers and banks, as lower-than-estimated inflation in China and an increase in Australian jobs eased concern tighter monetary policy in the region will hurt growth.
Baoshan Iron & Steel Co. climbed 5.7 percent in Shanghai as pressure eased for the central bank to raise interest rates. Commonwealth Bank of Australia gained 2.3 percent after the country’s employers added more jobs last month than economists expected. Wumart Stores Inc. surged 11 percent in Hong Kong after MSCI Inc. said it will add the company to its indexes. Korea Electric Power Corp. jumped 4.8 percent after winning approval to adjust tariffs.
The MSCI Asia Pacific excluding Japan Index added 1.8 percent to 388.44 as of 6:19 p.m. in Hong Kong. Japan and Taiwan are closed today. The MSCI gauge has lost 10 percent from an 18- month high on Jan. 11 as China and India took steps to curb inflation and concern grew Greece, Spain and Portugal will struggle to trim budget deficits.
“Over the next few months we’ll start to see a fading of concerns about a hard landing in China, the issue of Greece will be dealt with and issues concerning growth in the U.S. will also start to fade,” Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy at AMP Capital Investors, which oversees about $90 billion globally, told Bloomberg Television in Sydney. “Investors should be using this market weakness as a buying opportunity.”
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.9 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 0.9 percent. New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index fell 0.7 percent as the country’s manufacturing industry expanded at a slower pace in January.
Missing Estimates
The Kospi Index increased 1.8 percent in South Korea, where the central bank left its key interest rate unchanged today. STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Co. jumped 6.3 percent, leading the country’s shipyards higher, after winning a $700 million order.
Futures on the U.S. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index advanced 0.5 percent. The gauge fell 0.2 percent yesterday as results at Sprint Nextel Corp. and Dean Foods Co. trailed estimates and concern grew that the economic recovery may slow as the Federal Reserve withdraws stimulus measures.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index, which includes Japan, completed its third weekly decline last week as concerns over debt in Europe dented investor confidence. That cut the average price of stocks in the gauge to 18 times estimated earnings, the lowest level since February 2009, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Baoshan Iron & Steel, China’s biggest steelmaker, gained 5.7 percent to 7.83 yuan and Hebei Iron & Steel Co., the listed unit of the No. 2, advanced 2.7 percent to 5.74 yuan.
Tightening Measures
China’s government said consumer prices rose 1.5 percent in January, lower than the 2.1 percent median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of economists. China has been taking steps to cool an economy that expanded 10.7 percent in the fourth quarter, the fastest pace in two years. The central bank ordered lenders on Jan. 12 to set aside larger reserves.
“The urgency for immediate interest rate increases has receded as consumer prices look stable,” said Ally Wang, who helps oversee about $1.2 billion at HSBC Jintrust Fund Management Co. “But the tightening concern is still there and data for the following months still needs to be closely watched.”
The People’s Bank of China said today that China’s lending surged to 1.39 trillion yuan ($203 billion) in January, more than in the previous three months combined.
Inner Mongolia Yitai Coal Co.’s dollar-denominated B shares jumped 5.6 percent to $9.125 in Shanghai after the company, a coal producer, reported an increase in 2009 net income.
Lower Jobless Rate
Optimism for growth in Australia’s economy boosted Commonwealth Bank by 2.3 percent to A$53. Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. added 2.7 percent to A$20.75.
Australian employers added 52,700 jobs from December, the fifth-straight monthly gain, the statistics bureau said in Sydney today. The median estimate of 21 economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for 15,000 new positions. The jobless rate fell to 5.3 percent from 5.5 percent.
James Hardie Industries NV, the biggest seller of home siding in the U.S., advanced 2.4 percent to A$7.85. The company said operating profit rose 66 percent in the third quarter and expects full-year operating profit to be close to the top range of analyst estimates.
“People are more optimistic for the time being and a bit happier the way the world is panning out,” said Tim Schroeders, who helps manage $1.1 billion at Pengana Capital Ltd. in Melbourne.
Material, Energy Shares
Material and energy shares posted the biggest advances of the MSCI Asia Pacific excluding Japan Index’s 10 industry groups. Oil producers gained as crude futures rose 1 percent to $74.52 a barrel in New York yesterday. Prices added 0.5 percent today, the fourth-consecutive advance.
Woodside Petroleum Ltd., Australia’s No. 2 oil producer, rose 3.2 percent to A$43. Santos Ltd., Australia’s No. 3 oil producer, climbed 1.6 percent to A$13.25. PetroChina Co., China’s largest oil producer, gained 2 percent to HK$8.68.
Korea Electric, supplier of almost all of South Korea’s electricity, gained 4.8 percent to 39,200 won after the government allowed it to adjust tariffs to reflect changes in fuel costs starting July 2011.
Wumart jumped 11 percent to HK$14.62 after MSCI said it will include the company in its indexes. Skyworth Digital Holdings Ltd. and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., which will also be added, both surged more than 5 percent. The changes will be made at the close of Feb. 26.
MSCI Additions
“People are going to be pretty cautious today with Japan and Taiwan shut and a lot of volume will be off on that,” said Andrew Sullivan, a sales trader at Mainfirst Securities Hong Kong Ltd. “Chinese New Year is starting this weekend, so you won’t get a lot of bets being put on before that. On the positive side, you’ve got the MSCI additions.”
In Seoul, STX Offshore climbed 6.3 percent to 11,900 won after a unit won an order to build a liquefied natural gas terminal in Mexico. Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., the world’s No. 1 shipbuilder, jumped 7.1 percent to 220,000 won. Its subsidiary Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co. climbed 10 percent to 123,500 won.
“The order has increased expectations that there could be more in the coming months,” said Lee Jae Won, an analyst at Tong Yang Securities Inc. in Seoul.
Telstra Corp. and Malaysian Airline System Bhd. posted the biggest declines on the MSCI Asia Pacific excluding Japan Index. Telstra sank 5 percent to A$3.22 in Sydney after cutting its annual revenue forecast for a second time in two months. The company also said first-half profit fell 3.3 percent.
Malaysian Airline, the country’s national carrier, slumped 5.9 percent to 1.92 ringgit after investors sold the stock to seek out cheaper rights shares. The company had raised funds through a rights offer at 1.60 ringgit each. Its rights entitlement began trading today at 16.5 sen each.
To contact the reporter for this story: Jonathan Burgos in Singapore at jburgos4@bloomberg.net.
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