Asia stocks at 5-wk high

STOCK REPORT

Asian stocks jumped to a five-week high as lower oil prices and rising US home sales boosted confidence demand in the region's biggest export market will climb.

The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index gained 1.5 per cent to 146.70 as of 6:42 pm in Tokyo. The measure is set to close at its highest since February 27, which marked the start of a five-day sell-off that erased $3.3 trillion from global stock markets.

Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 1.7 per cent, the most since March 8 and the biggest rise in the region. All other benchmarks in Asia advanced, except in Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Samsung Electronics, South Korea's biggest exporter, advanced 3.7 per cent to 595,000 won, the most since August 17. Toyota, the No 2 seller of automobiles in the US, gained 1.6 per cent to 7,540 yen, the biggest gain since March 6. Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing, which makes chips that power Microsoft Corp's Xbox 360 game console, climbed 0.7 per cent to S$1.44 in Singapore.

Sumitomo Metal Mining, Japan's largest nickel producer, added 1.8 per cent to 2,235 yen. BHP Billiton, the world's biggest mining company by market value and production, climbed 1.8 per cent to A$30.64. Cheung Kong, Hong Kong's biggest developer by value, climbed 2.3 per cent to HK$104.80.

US
US stock and index futures erased their losses after crude oil dropped on Iran's president saying he will release 15 British hostages. Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures expiring in June added 0.4 to 1447.6 as of 9:17 am in New York. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 2 to 12,582. Nasdaq-100 Index futures increased 0.75 to 1815.5.

Europe
European energy stocks dropped as oil prices fell, fanning concern that earnings at BP and Total will decline. Benchmarks in the region were little changed. The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index fell less than 0.1 per cent to 379.45 at 2:38 pm in London. The Stoxx 50 was little changed and the Euro Stoxx 50, a measure for the 13 national sharing the euro, advanced 0.2 per cent.

The Stoxx 600 Index is now less than three points shy of a six-year high reached on February 19 as a flurry of takeovers offset concern the US economy is slowing. A report on Wednesday may show growth at US service industries picked up last month from the lowest level in almost four years.

National benchmarks rose in 10 of 18 markets in western Europe. France's CAC 40 and Germany's DAX both climbed 0.2 per cent.

The UK's FTSE 100 shed 0.1 per cent.

BP, Europe's second-largest energy company, dropped 0.6 per cent to 545.5 pence. Repsol, its fifth-largest oil company, retreated 1 per cent to 25.24 euros. Total, the region's No 1 refiner, slipped 0.8 per cent to 52.33 euros.

Airline stocks gained as oil declined. Air France, Europe's biggest airline, added 1.2 per cent to 35.12 euros. Lufthansa, the region's No 2, advanced 3.6 per cent to 21.47 euros.

Carrefour jumped 3 per cent to 57.45 euros. Colony Capital founder Thomas Barrack says he wants Carrefour to raise as much as 30 billion euros ($40 billion) from property sales, more than what Europe's biggest retailer says its real-estate assets are worth.

DaimlerChrysler, the world's fifth-largest carmaker, slipped 1.3 per cent to 61.17 euros after rising as much as 1.1 per cent. Chief Executive Officer Dieter Zetsche said the carmaker is holding talks on a potential sale of the Chrysler unit.