Asian stocks advanced, led by HSBC Holdings and BHP Billiton, on speculation that lower interest rates will bolster growth in the world's largest economy.Sun Hung Kai Properties led gains among Hong Kong developers on expectations the city's banks will match any cut in rates by the US Federal Reserve on Tuesday, fueling demand for real estate. Kookmin Bank lead financial shares higher after UBS and Washington Mutual agreed to sell stake to investors."A rate cut is expected to provide more liquidity into the financial system and that could help the economy stay on a growth path," said Park Sehick, who helps manage $6 billion at Hanwha Investment Trust Management in Seoul.The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 0.9 per cent to 165.02 as of 7:25 pm in Tokyo, after retreating on Monday for the first time in four days.Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 0.8 per cent to 16,044.72, while the BSE Sensex closed above 20,000 for the first time. Benchmarks advanced in other markets open for trading, except for the Philippines and Thailand.China Merchants Bank led a decline among the country's lenders on concern accelerating inflation will prompt the central bank to raise interest rates to cool the economy.Crude oil rose 0.6 per cent to $88.41 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.EUROPEEuropean stocks dropped after a report showed investor confidence in Germany fell to the lowest in almost 15 years, more than economists forecast. Siemens, UBS and Rio Tinto Group declined.The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index lost 0.4 per cent at 373.7 as of 10:14 am in London. The Stoxx 50 also declined 0.4 per cent, while the Euro Stoxx 50, a measure for the euro region, slid 0.3 per cent.The ZEW Center for European Economic Research said its index of investor and analyst expectations dropped to minus 37.2 in December, the lowest since January 1993 and more than the 34.5 estimate in a Bloomberg survey. The index had a reading of minus 32.5 last month.USUS stock-index futures gained on speculation that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates at its meeting and prevent the world's largest economy from falling into a recession.Citigroup, the biggest US bank, and JPMorgan Chase rose in Europe. Texas Instruments advanced after the largest maker of mobile-phone chips raised the low end of its sales forecast. Burger King Holdings climbed as Goldman Sachs recommended buying shares of the second-largest US hamburger chain.Standard and Poor's 500 Index futures expiring in December added 3 points to 1,521.80 as of 9:48 am in London. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures increased 26 points to 13,777. Nasdaq-100 Index futures gained 5.75 points to 2,144.25.The Fed will probably cut its benchmark interest rate to 4.25 per cent from 4.5 per cent, according to the median estimate of economists polled by Bloomberg.
