Most Asian Stocks Advance on Yen Speculation; Newcrest Climbs

Sept. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Most Asian stocks rose, led by gains in Japan on speculation the government had taken steps to weaken the yen. Mining companies rose on higher metal prices.

Canon Inc., a camera maker that gets almost 85 percent of sales outside Japan, climbed 1.3 percent in Tokyo after Kyodo News reported the country had likely sold yen and bought dollars. Newcrest Mining Ltd., Australia’s biggest gold producer, jumped 1.9 percent in Sydney after gold futures rose to a record. Advantest Corp., the world’s No. 1 maker of memory-chip testers, dropped 0.4 percent after JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut its rating.

“People in the market are trading shares while watching currency moves,” said Hiroichi Nishi, an equities manager in Tokyo at Nikko Cordial Securities Inc. “The market won’t be falling much as excessive pessimism about the global economy, led by the U.S., is receding.”

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.3 percent to 124.60 as of 10:51 a.m. in Tokyo. About three stocks advanced for each one that dropped. The measure has climbed 7.6 percent from a one- month low on Aug. 25 amid speculation the U.S. will avoid slipping into its second recession in three years.