Asian Stocks Rise on U.S. Economic Growth Optimism

Asian stocks rose for the first time in three days after U.S. employment and consumer confidence reports boosted optimism in the world’s largest economy and the yen touched a sixth-month low.

Toyota Motor Corp., Asia’s biggest carmaker, added 0.8 percent as the yen earlier fell against the dollar, bolstering the profit outlook for Japanese exporters. Warrnambool Cheese & Butter Factory Co. advanced 1.1 percent after Murray Goulburn Cooperative Co., Australia’s biggest milk processor, raised its takeover offer. Forge Group Ltd. slumped 84 percent in Sydney after the mining-services firm said it will report a 2014 loss.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.8 percent to 142.16 as of 9:38 a.m. in Hong Kong, with all 10 industry groups on the measure rising. More than $8 trillion has been added to the value of global equities this year, the biggest increase since 2009, as central banks took steps to shore up economies worldwide. The Asia-Pacific gauge jumped 9 percent in 2013 through yesterday, while falling 0.9 percent on the month.

“Asia’s earnings growth does remain largely leveraged to the global economy,” Michael Kurtz, Hong Kong-based head of global equity strategy at Nomura Holdings Inc., said in an e-mail. “Our economists expect the U.S. economy finally to accelerate to a more robust pace in 2014.”

Japan’s Topix index rose 0.7 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index added 0.4 percent and New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index gained 0.1 percent. South Korea’s Kospi index added 0.7 percent.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.8 percent and China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.2 percent. Singapore’s Straits Times Index added 0.7 percent and Taiwan’s Taiex Index gained 0.8 percent.

(Source: Bloomberg)