Asian Stocks Rise as U.S. Incomes, Falling Oil Boost Optimism; Honda Gains

Asian stocks rose for a third day as falling oil prices and U.S. data showing higher personal incomes boosted confidence in global economic growth prospects.

Honda Motor Co., Japan’s second-biggest carmaker, gained 1.3 percent in Tokyo as the yen also weakened. Sony Corp. Japan’s largest electronics exporter, advanced 0.7 percent. BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s No. 1 mining company and Australia’s largest oil producer, climbed 0.7 percent in Sydney. Rival Rio Tinto Group rose 0.8 percent as copper prices advanced for the third straight session in New York yesterday.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 0.5 percent to 138.24 at 9:32 a.m. in Tokyo. The gauge, which advanced 0.6 percent in February, dropped 2.1 percent last week as political unrest swept the Middle East.

“Although there’s still uncertainty about what’s happening in North Africa and the Middle East, easing crude futures are supportive” for the stock market, said Fumiyuki Nakanishi a strategist at Tokyo-based SMBC Friend Securities Co. “The data continues to show the economy is steadily improving.”

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 0.8 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.2 percent ahead of a central bank decision on interest rates. Markets in South Korea are closed today.

Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.2 percent today. The index advanced 0.6 percent in New York yesterday after reports showed personal income improved more than economists expected and a measure of U.S. business conditions rose to its highest level in more than 22 years.
U.S. Incomes

In the U.S., incomes climbed 1 percent in January, exceeding the median forecast of economists surveyed and the most since May 2009, according to figures from the Commerce Department yesterday in Washington.

The Institute for Supply Management-Chicago Inc. said yesterday its business barometer rose to 71.2 in February, the highest level since July 1988, from 68.8 in January. Figures greater than 50 signal expansion. The gauge, which was projected to fall, exceeded every estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 0.2 percent through yesterday in 2011, compared with gains of 5.5 percent by the S&P 500 and 3.9 percent by the Stoxx Europe 600 Index. Stocks in the Asian benchmark are valued at 13.8 times estimated earnings on average, compared with 13.8 times for the S&P 500 and 11.4 times for the Stoxx 600.

Crude oil for April delivery declined 0.9 percent to settle at $96.97 a barrel in New York yesterday, the biggest daily drop since Feb. 11, after Saudi Arabia offered to make up for supplies lost because of unrest in Libya.
Yen Relief

The yen’s depreciation should also give a lift to Japan’s exporters today, SMBC’s Nakanishi said.

The currency fell to as low as 81.98 against the dollar, compared with 81.66 at the close of stock trading in Tokyo yesterday. Against the euro, Japan’s currency weakened to 113.35 from 112.39. A weaker yen boosts the value of overseas income at Japanese companies when converted into their home currency.