Asian Stocks Rise on Divided Goldman Sachs Vote, Citigroup, Yen

April 20 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks rose, led by finance companies, as people familiar with the matter said regulators were split on suing Goldman Sachs Group Inc., easing concern over the impact increased scrutiny on banks will have on profits.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. rose 1.4 percent in Tokyo as Morgan Stanley upgraded the nation’s banks and Citigroup Inc.’s profit beat estimates. National Australia Bank Ltd., the nation’s third-biggest lender, climbed 2.8 percent in Sydney. Honda Motor Co., which gets 44 percent of its sales in North America, gained 1.7 percent in Tokyo after the yen weakened against the dollar.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.6 percent to 126.30 as of 9:44 a.m. in Tokyo. The gauge slumped the most since Feb. 19 yesterday after regulators sued Goldman Sachs for fraud related to collateralized debt obligations. Securities and Exchange Commission officials voted 3-2 to pursue the case, two people familiar with the matter said.

“The divided vote on Goldman suggests excessive regulation that would reduce bank earnings will be avoided,” said Fumiyuki Nakanishi, a senior strategist at SMBC Friend Securities Co. in Tokyo.

Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index advanced 0.1 percent. The gauge rose 0.5 percent yesterday as the index of U.S. leading indicators rose in March by the most in 10 months.