Asian stocks at record high

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian stocks rose to a record after BHP Billiton said it will buy back $10 billion in shares and on speculation NTT DoCoMo will increase dividends.

"It's a positive sign that returns of capital are increasing,'' said Tim Leung, who helps manage $1 billion at IG Investments in Hong Kong. "Company managements seem to be listening to shareholders. If they don't have a good use for cash, then they might as well give the money back.''

The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index, a US dollar-denominated measure of more than 1,000 stocks, added 0.1 per cent at 143.36 at 5:20 pm in Tokyo. A close at that level would be surpass the index's previous record of 143.25 set on May 8.

China's Shanghai and Shenzhen 300 Index climbed 2.3 per cent, Asia's biggest gain. Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 0.7 per cent to 17,292.32, while the broader Topix index fell 0.2 per cent. Measures also dropped in South Korea, Taiwan and the Philippines. They advanced elsewhere in Asia. Benchmarks in India, Australia and Singapore rose to all-time highs.

BHP, the world's largest mining company by market value, jumped 5.9 per cent to A$28.24, the biggest advance since July 20. First-half net income rose 41 per cent from a year earlier to a record, the company said.

US

US stock and index futures were little changed before reports on worker productivity and labour costs in the world's biggest economy. Cisco Systems rose in Europe after the largest maker of computer-networking equipment forecast sales will exceed analysts' estimates. Walt Disney Co fell before the second-largest US media company reports first-quarter earnings.

Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures expiring in March were little changed at 1453.6 as of 9:27 am in London. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 3 to 12,700. Nasdaq-100 Index futures added 5.5 to 1809.

Europe

European stocks advanced for a fifth day, the longest winning streak this year, after BHP Billiton said it will buy back $10 billion of shares and Cisco Systems of the US forecast sales that exceeded analysts' estimates.

Gains by BHP and Anglo American, the world's largest mining companies, sent the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Basic Resource Index to a record. Infineon Technologies and Alcatel-Lucent led technology stocks higher.

The Stoxx 600 added 0.1 per cent to 380.99 as of 9:11 am in London. Roche Holding led declines by drug stocks, the worst performers in the broader index.

The Euro Stoxx 50, a measure for the 13 nations sharing the euro, increased 0.3 per cent, and Stoxx 50 was little changed.

BHP jumped 5.1 per cent to 1,035 pence. The company said net income rose 41 per cent to a record $6.2 billion for the six months ended December 31, from $4.36 billion, a year ago. Record commodity prices enabled Chief Executive Charles 'Chip' Goodyear, who plans to retire in 2007, to deliver his seventh straight half-year record profit and reward shareholders.

Anglo American, the world's second-biggest mining company, rose 2 per cent to 2,453 pence. Rio Tinto, the third-largest, advanced 1.5 per cent to 2,745 pence.

Roche fell 1.6 per cent to 234.6 Swiss francs. The world's biggest maker of cancer medicines said full-year profit rose 33 per cent to 7.88 billion francs ($6.35 billion) as doctors prescribed more of its tumor-fighting treatments and demand rose for the Tamiflu antiviral drug.