Asian Stocks Rise on Fed Beige Book, Yen; James Hardie Gains

Dec. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks rose, led by automakers and electronics companies, as the Federal Reserve said the U.S. economy improved and a weakening yen boosted the earnings outlook for Japanese exporters.

Honda Motor Co., which gets 42 percent of its revenue from North America, climbed 3.8 percent after the Fed’s Beige Book showed the economy expanded or improved “modestly” across the U.S. Sony Corp., which gets 20 percent of its sales in the U.S., added 3.8 percent. James Hardie Industries NV, the top seller of home siding in the U.S., gained 3.4 percent. Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. gained 3.2 percent after freight rates snapped an eight-day streak of losses.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.8 percent to 120.78 as of 9:48 a.m. in Tokyo, set to close at the highest level since Oct. 20. The gauge has climbed 71 percent from a more than five- year low on March 9 on signs stimulus measures are reviving global growth.

“The Beige Book confirmed that the economy is on an upward trend, spreading a sense of security,” said Mitsushige Akino, who oversees the equivalent of $450 million in assets in Tokyo at Ichiyoshi Investment Management Co. “People are expecting fundamentals to improve.”

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 1.7 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.3 percent. South Korea’s Kospi Index advanced 0.7 percent. Futures on the U.S. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 0.2 percent. The gauge increased for a third day yesterday after the Fed’s comments.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index’s gain since its March low has outpaced gains of 64 percent by the S&P 500 and 56 percent for Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index. Stocks in the MSCI benchmark are valued at 22 times estimated earnings, compared with 18 times for the S&P and 16 times for the Stoxx 600.