Asian Stocks Rise for Second Day as Won, Euro Strengthen By Lynn Thomasson and Norie Kuboyama - Apr 25, 2012

Asian stocks rose for a second day and the won gained as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said he’s prepared to do more to stimulate growth and data showed South Korea’s economy grew at the fastest pace in a year. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index (MXAP) climbed 0.5 percent as of 9:41 a.m. in Tokyo. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures were little changed after the equity gauge rallied 1.4 percent yesterday. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 0.4 percent. The euro traded near a three-week high, gaining 0.1 percent to $1.3231, and the won strengthened against all of its 16 major counterparts. South Korea’s gross domestic product rose 0.9 percent in the first quarter from the previous three months, matching economist estimates. The Fed said policy makers expect the economy to accelerate gradually, increasing forecasts for 2012 growth and reducing projections for the jobless rate. PetroChina Co., Komatsu Ltd., Nintendo Co. and Japan Tobacco Inc. are among Asian companies scheduled to report earnings today. “The Federal Reserve didn’t rule out the possibility of additional monetary easing,” said Mitsushige Akino, who oversees about $600 million in Tokyo at Ichiyoshi Investment Management Co. “That’s leading to confidence among investors.” Asian stocks extended a global rally spurred by better- than-estimated profits at companies from Apple Inc. to Boeing Co. The Nasdaq-100 Index jumped 2.7 percent yesterday, the most since Dec. 20, with Apple surging 8.9 percent for its best gain in more than three years. Earnings Season Quarterly earnings-per-share have risen 10 percent for the 192 companies in the S&P 500 that reported since April 10, with results beating analysts’ forecasts by 9.6 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Before the start of the earnings season, analysts had predicted earnings growth of 0.8 percent. Fanuc Corp. (6954) slumped 5.2 percent in Tokyo. The maker of factory automation equipment said operating profit will fall 3.1 percent for the six months ending September. The fiscal year has started “with a downward risk in the economy,” the company said. The won climbed 0.3 percent to 1,137.88 per dollar. South Korea’s Kospi index added 0.7 percent. To contact the reporters on this story: Lynn Thomasson in Hong Kong at lthomasson@bloomberg.net; Norie Kuboyama in Tokyo at nkuboyama@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Darren Boey at dboey@bloomberg.net ®2012 BLOOMBERG L.P. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.