Asian Stocks Head for Weekly Advance as Panasonic Jumps

Asian stocks fluctuated, with the regional benchmark index heading for its third weekly advance in four weeks, as technology and phone companies led gains while utilities fell.

Panasonic Corp. surged 6 percent in Tokyo, a fifth day of gains, after doubling its full-year profit forecast. SoftBank Corp. (9984) advanced 4.1 percent after quarterly profit at Japan’s No. 3 wireless carrier beat analyst estimates. Kansai Electric Power Co. dropped 2.3 percent, pacing a retreat among Japanese utilities. Sydney Airport sank 2.9 percent after its largest shareholder Macquarie Group Ltd. said it plans to give some of its stake to investors.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index was little changed at 142.25 as of 9:42 a.m. in Tokyo, after rising as much as 0.1 percent and declining 0.2 percent. The measure is poised for a 0.7 percent advance since Oct. 25 and climbed 2.7 percent in October for its first back-to-back monthly rally since April.

South Korea’s Kospi Index rose 0.4 percent and Japan’s Topix index added 0.1 percent. New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.1 percent. Markets in China and Hong Kong are yet to open.

(Source: Bloomberg)