Asia gets Fed push

GLOBAL MARKETS/ STOCK REPORT

Asian stocks rose after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates and data that showed US economic growth has accelerated, bolstering confidence in the region's biggest export market.

Canon, which earned 31 per cent of its revenue in North America last year, climbed the most in two months after the Fed said economic growth was solid.

China Petroleum & Chemical rose after the Chinese government raised the cost of fuel to help refiners cover record oil prices that have touched $96 a barrel. BHP Billiton led oil producers higher.

"The Fed didn't give signs of a further slowdown and that's given investors the confidence to take risks again," said Thue Isen, who manages $1 billion at Bankinvest Group in Singapore. "Energy producers are reacting to the rise in oil prices, which could stay high for significantly longer than expected."

EUROPE
European stocks fell, led by financial companies, after Credit Suisse Group posted the first profit decline in a year as it wrote down $1.9 billion in fixed-income securities and leveraged loans.

Barclays and HSBC Holdings also dropped. AstraZeneca slipped after the UK's second-largest pharmaceutical company said Canadian generic-drug maker Cobalt Pharmaceuticals asked US regulators to approve a copy of its Crestor cholesterol treatment.

The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index lost 0.2 per cent to 387.7 at 8:31 am in London. The Stoxx 50 and the Euro Stoxx 50, a measure for the euro region, both declined 0.3 per cent.

"I am not sure I see encouraging signs,'' said Andrew Cole, who helps oversee about $48 billion at Baring Asset Management in London.

US
US stock-index futures fell before a report that may show the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation remained at the upper end of its range in September.

Wal-Mart Stores, the world's largest retailer, declined in Europe. Citigroup dropped as CIBC World Markets said the second-biggest US bank may have to cut its dividend. Exxon Mobil retreated before the world's largest oil company reports its third-quarter earnings.

Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures expiring in December lost 6.70 points to 1,548.20 at 11:28 am in London. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 45 to 13,891. Nasdaq-100 futures decreased 5.5 to 2,247.