Asian stocks bounce back

GLOBAL MARKETS/ STOCK REPORT

Asian stocks rose, led by technology companies and Japanese property developers, after Merrill Lynch raised its rating on Samsung Electronics, and UBS said a drop in real-estate companies was overdone.

Samsung, Asia's largest maker of flat panels, mobile phones and chips, jumped the most in six months. Mitsui Fudosan, Japan's second-largest developer by market value, climbed for the first time in five days.

"We've seen very heavy selling in the past few days and right now the market's taking a moment to pause," said Yuuki Sakurai at Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 1 per cent to 146.42 at 7:03 pm in Tokyo, halting a two-day, 4.7 per cent drop. Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average advanced 2.1 per cent to 13,783.45, rebounding from the lowest in more than two years.

However, China's CSI 300 Index tumbled 2.5 per cent after the government ordered banks to set aside more money in reserve.

Bank shares climbed elsewhere in Asia, led by National Australia Bank, after JPMorgan Chase reported a lower-than-estimated writedown.

EUROPE
European stock-index futures rose after declines this year left the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index valued at the cheapest since 2002 relative to earnings.

Aviva, HBOS and Deutsche Bank will probably lead an advance by financial-related companies. SAP may gain after the biggest maker of business-management software said it doesn't expect a slowing global economy to hurt sales.

Futures on the Euro Stoxx 50, a benchmark for the euro region, added 31 points , or 0.8 per cent, to 4,175 at 7:43 am in London.

The Stoxx 600, which has dropped 8.8 per cent in 2008, is valued at 11.6 times profit, the lowest since at least January 2002.

US
US stock-index futures rose as Goldman Sachs recommended shares of Microsoft and some investors speculated Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will encourage lawmakers to stimulate the economy.

Microsoft advanced in Frankfurt after Goldman added the world's largest software maker to its "conviction buy" list and said the company's earnings this month may show stronger- than-estimated growth at its personal-computer unit.

Standard and Poor's 500 Index futures expiring in March added 7.2 points to 1,383 at 10:24 am in London. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 49 points to 12,539. Nasdaq-100 Index futures climbed 11.25 points to 1,892.