May 5 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks advanced, lifting the region's benchmark near a four-month high, after copper and crude prices rose and the U.S. lost fewer jobs than forecast.
BHP Billiton Ltd., the world's largest mining company and Australia's biggest oil producer, and Rio Tinto Group climbed in Sydney. STX Pan Ocean Co. led shipping stocks higher after the price of transporting bulk commodities jumped to the highest in almost five months. Incitec Pivot Ltd. gained after Australia's No. 1 fertilizer maker said first-half profit almost tripled.
``It provides a positive undertone for commodities if the U.S. isn't going to crash and burn; it helps the China story,'' said Hans Kunnen, head of investment market research in Sydney at Colonial First State Global Management, which holds $128 billion of assets. The U.S. data ``may have boosted BHP and Rio today.''
The MSCI Asia Pacific excluding Japan Index advanced 0.2 percent to 498.61 as of 12:36 p.m. in Hong Kong, with a measure of raw material suppliers adding 0.9 percent. The regional benchmark was poised for its highest close since Jan. 15.
Markets in Japan, South Korea and Thailand are closed for holidays. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index added 0.7 percent. Benchmarks open for trading elsewhere gained, except in Taiwan and Hong Kong, which was little changed.
Technology shares fell after brokerages cut their ratings on Foxconn Technology Co., a maker of metal casings for Apple Inc.'s phones and notebooks, and Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp., a subsidiary of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Alibaba.com Ltd. dropped in Hong Kong after Microsoft Corp. withdrew its offer to buy Yahoo! Inc.
Copper, Oil
U.S. stocks rose on May 2, rounding off the market's first three-week advance since October, after a Labor Department report showed payrolls shrank by 20,000 workers in April, less than the 75,000 forecast by economists in a Bloomberg News survey. Orders to U.S. factories also gained more than forecast in March, indicating rising demand from overseas may be helping American manufacturers weather a decline in sales at home.
BHP Billiton rose 2.3 percent to A$44.42, the biggest gain since April 23. Rio Tinto, the world's third-largest mining company, climbed 1.5 percent to A$140.27.
A measure of six metals traded on the London Metal Exchange gained 2 percent on May 2, with copper jumping 2.3 percent. Crude oil for June delivery surged 3.4 percent to $116.32 a barrel in New York, the biggest advance in a month.
Woodside Petroleum Ltd., Australia's second-largest mining company, advanced 3.3 percent to A$58.85. Cnooc Ltd., China's largest offshore oil producer, gained 1.8 percent to HK$13.60. PT Bumi Resources, Asia's biggest exporter of power-station coal, jumped 3.1 percent to 6,750 rupiah on speculation higher crude oil prices will boost demand for other fuels.
Shipping Costs
STX Pan Ocean, South Korea's largest carrier of iron ore, coal and other commodities, added 1.4 percent to S$3.64 in Singapore. Neptune Orient Lines Ltd., Southeast Asia's largest container line, jumped 5.9 percent to S$3.60. Orient Overseas (International) Ltd., Hong Kong's largest container line, surged 10 percent to HK$51.35, the biggest advance on MSCI's Asian index.
The Baltic Dry Index surged 1.5 percent on May 2 to the highest since Dec. 19. The index, which tracks the price of transporting bulk commodities, has gained 7.8 percent this year.
In Sydney, Incitec Pivot rose 1.9 percent to A$174.76 after saying first-half profit almost tripled to a record A$169.8 million ($159 million) as surging global food demand drove prices for crop nutrients higher.
Foxconn, Vanguard
Gains were limited by a decline in technology shares. The MSCI Asia-Pacific excluding Japan Information Technology Index dropped 0.9 percent, the biggest loss among the broader benchmark's 10 industry groups.
Taiwan's Foxconn lost 6.8 percent to NT$170.50 after Deutsche Bank AG cut the stock to ``sell'' from ``buy,'' saying earnings growth at the company's light metal business will slow. The company said last week first-quarter profit fell 23 percent, missing analyst estimates.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., which owns a stake in Foxconn, declined 5 percent to NT$160.50.
Deutsche also cut its rating on Vanguard International to ``sell'' from ``hold,'' joining Credit Suisse Group and Citigroup Inc. in lowering their recommendations on the stock. Shares of Vanguard plunged 7 percent to NT$22.10, the biggest loss since August 2005.
Alibaba.com, China's biggest online commerce company, fell 4.2 percent to HK$15.52 in Hong Kong. Its parent is 39 percent- owned by Yahoo. Microsoft, the world's biggest software maker, said on May 3 that it abandoned its bid for Yahoo after failing to agree on a price.
``Microsoft's bid to buy Yahoo had been positive for Internet companies in general, so the withdrawal of the offer may be negative in the short term,'' said Linus Yip, a strategist at First Shanghai Securities in Hong Kong. ``The impact on Alibaba may be more pronounced because of Yahoo's holdings.''
No comments:
Post a Comment