Asian Stocks Rise to One-Month High on Improved U.S. Outlook
Dec. 6 -- Asian stocks gained, pushing a regional benchmark to a one-month high, on speculation the U.S. economy will avoid a recession.
Samsung Electronics Co. led gains among exporters after reports showed that U.S. productivity and jobs rose. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. advanced among banks on expectations U.S. regulators and lenders have agreed on measures to contain subprime-mortgage losses that threatened global growth.
``The market is relieved that the U.S. is looking at a raft of alternatives to solving these problems,'' said Michael Birch, who helps manage the equivalent of $138 million at Wallace Funds Management in Sydney. ``The policymakers are trying to do enough so that the economy will have a soft landing.''
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 1.1 percent to 164.17 as of 10:15 a.m. in Tokyo, heading for its highest close since Nov. 7. Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 1.5 percent. Most other markets open in the region advanced. The U.S. Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose yesterday to the highest in a month.
MSCI's regional index had dropped as much as 11 percent from its Nov. 1 record on concern rising losses tied to investments in U.S. subprime mortgages will slow growth in the largest market for Asian exports. Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel Prize-winning economist, said Nov. 16 that there is a 50 percent probability that the U.S. will tumble into a recession.
Samsung Electronics, Asia's biggest maker of chips and mobile phones, climbed 3.1 percent to 600,000 won. BHP Billiton Ltd., the world's largest mining company, gained 2.4 percent to A$43.72.
U.S. worker productivity rose the most since 2003 in the third quarter, the Labor Department said yesterday. A report from ADP Employer Services showed companies last month added 189,000 jobs, more than triple the average forecast.
Separately, federal regulators and U.S. lenders agreed on five years as the duration of an interest-rate freeze on subprime mortgages, a person familiar with the measure said yesterday. President George W. Bush is due to announce the accord later today after it was negotiated by officials including Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.
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