Asia Stocks, U.S. Equity Futures Rise By Shiyin Chen - Jan 24, 2012

Asian stocks and U.S. equity-index futures gained after Apple Inc.’s quarterly profit more than doubled, while the dollar was 0.2 percent from its lowest level in three weeks against the euro before the Federal Open Market Committee releases forecasts for its key interest rate.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 0.6 percent as of 9:45 a.m. in Tokyo. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures rose 0.3 percent and contracts on the Nasdaq-100 Index jumped 1 percent. The dollar traded at $1.3032 against the euro, after yesterday reaching $1.3063, while Australia’s currency erased earlier losses after data on inflation. Oil added 0.4 percent to $99.33 a barrel in New York.

Apple shares soared as much as 12 percent in extended trading after its results. President Barack Obama will lay out what he calls a “blueprint” for revitalizing the economy in his third State of the Union address, while the Fed will release its interest-rate forecasts for the first time. The World Economic Forum’s annual meeting begins a day after the International Monetary Fund cut its forecast yesterday for global growth.

“The FOMC meeting could be negative for the U.S. dollar against other currencies, but positive against the yen,” said Imre Speizer, a strategist in Auckland at Westpac Banking Corp., Australia’s second-largest lender. “If they explicitly say they’re going to leave the Fed funds rate at a record low for a very long time, even though the market already knows that and expects it, it may be positive for risk markets.”
Stocks Climb

More than three shares gained for every one that declined on MSCI’s Asia Pacific Index. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 0.9 percent, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rallied 0.7 percent and South Korea’s Kospi Index increased 0.8 percent. Financial markets in Hong Kong, Taiwan and China remain closed for public holidays.

S&P 500 futures expiring in March signal the stocks gauge may rebound from yesterday’s 0.1 percent loss. Apple, the maker of iPhones and iPads, said first-quarter profit surged to $13.1 billion, or $13.87 a share. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg on average estimated profit of $10.14 a share.

Boeing Co., Xerox Corp. and ConocoPhillips are among companies scheduled to release results today. Earnings-per-share topped estimates at about 65 percent of the 82 companies in the S&P 500 that released results from Jan. 9, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

To contact the reporter on this story: Shiyin Chen in Singapore at schen37@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Rocky Swift at rswift5@bloomberg.net
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