Asia soars to 5-week high

GLOBAL MARKETS/ STOCK REPORT

Asian stocks rose, lifting the region's benchmark to a five-week high, as gains in commodity prices boosted mining and oil companies.

BHP Billiton, the world's biggest mining company, advanced in Sydney to the highest in three months. KDDI and Softbank, Japan's second and third-largest mobile phone companies, gained on a broker upgrade.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.8 per cent to 146.32 as of 7:22 pm in Tokyo, the highest since February 29. Almost three stocks rose for each that declined. The index is down 7.3 per cent this year on concern the US will enter a recession amid mounting losses at banks and brokerages.

Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average advanced 1.2 per cent to 13,450.23. Measures of oil producers and commodities traders posted the biggest gains among the 33 industry groups in the broader Topix index.

Steelmakers declined, led by Nippon Steel, on speculation higher coal prices will increase costs. Most stock benchmarks in Asia rose. China's CSI 300 Index climbed 5.3 per cent, the most in the region, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added 1.3 per cent.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index increased 0.1 per cent on April 4, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1 per cent. EUROPE
Stocks rose in Europe as Merrill Lynch said the worst of the credit-market turmoil was over and Goldman Sachs advised buying mining shares.

UBS rallied in Zurich after Merrill upgraded the stock, and Washington Mutual surged in Frankfurt as the Wall Street Journal said the company may get $5 billion from an investment group. Nestle SA climbed after Novartis AG agreed to buy a 25 per cent stake in its eye-care unit

The MSCI World Index added 0.3 per cent to 1,496.98 at 10:55 am in London, extending its biggest weekly advance in a year.

Europe's Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index added 0.8 per cent with all 18 national markets advancing. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index increased 0.7 per cent to a five-week high.

US
US stock-index futures rose as higher oil and copper prices lifted commodity producers and Merrill Lynch analysts in Europe said credit markets may be "past their worst."

Exxon Mobil, the world's biggest oil company, and Newmont Mining, the second-largest gold producer by volume, gained in Germany.

Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures expiring in June added 10.7 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 1,382.6 as of 10:11 am in London. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 75 points to 12,685 and Nasdaq 100 Index futures increased 15.25 points to 1,885.

US stocks posted the biggest weekly rally in two months last week after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc, Merrill and UBS triggered speculation that banks will weather mortgage related losses.

The S&P 500 has risen 7.6 per cent since falling to an almost 19-month low on March 10 as interest-rate cuts and other measures by the Federal Reserve gave support to banks suffering from $232 billion in credit losses and asset writedowns since the beginning of 2007.