Nov. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks rose as higher metal prices boosted mining companies, James Hardie Industries NV forecast earnings at the top of a range and on speculation Korea Exchange Bank will get a takeover offer.
Newcrest Mining Ltd. added 3 percent in Sydney as gold prices increased for the seventh straight session. Rio Tinto Group climbed 2 percent after metal prices in London had their biggest weekly advance in a month. James Hardie surged 7.8 percent after forecasting full-year earnings at the top range of analyst estimates. Korea Exchange Bank gained 3.8 percent after Hana Financial Group Inc. said it would consider a bid.
The MSCI Asia-Pacific Excluding Japan Index added 0.3 percent to 408.72 as of 10:16 a.m. in Tokyo, where markets were closed for a national holiday. The gauge has risen 65 percent this year, on course for its steepest annual gain since 1993, as governments worldwide enacted spending programs and cut borrowing costs to revive growth.
“The global economy, whilst in recovery mode, is still vulnerable,” said Chris Weston, an institutional dealer at IG Markets in Melbourne. “Take away the stimulus at the wrong time and it could send it back into a double-dip scenario.”
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.8 percent. The gauge has rallied 50 percent from a five-year low on March 6 as government measures including cash handouts and infrastructure spending helped Australia skirt a recession. South Korea’s Kospi Index slipped 0.1 percent today.
Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 0.3 percent. The index slipped 0.3 percent on Nov. 20 as earnings at Dell Inc. and D.R. Horton Inc. trailed analysts’ estimates and concern grew that European Central Bank policy makers will phase out measures to stimulate the economy.
To contact the reporter on this story: Shani Raja in Sydney at sraja4@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: November 22
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment