Asian stocks snap slide

STOCK REPORT

Asian stocks snapped a three-day drop, led by Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp., as the yen fell to the lowest against the dollar in more than four years.

"The benefit of the weak yen for automakers is growing as the domestic market contracts and overseas sales increase,'' said Kiyoshi Ishigane, who helps oversee $61 billion in assets at Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. in Tokyo.

China Mobile led gains in Hong Kong after the Oriental Daily News newspaper said Vodafone Group Plc rejected a $6 billion offer for its stake in the Chinese phone company. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed 0.9 percent to an all-time high after Veda Advantage, the biggest credit-checking company in Australia and New Zealand, received a buyout offer.

The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index added 0.2 percent to 140.84 at 6:20 pm in Tokyo, halting a three-day, 1.3 percent decline. Technology shares had the biggest slide among the measure's 10 industry groups.

Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 0.1 per cent to 17,490.19. A drop by Canon Inc, which forecast what would be its slowest net income growth in eight years, capped gains, while Softbank Corp. jumped as sales surged.

Indexes advanced in South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. They dropped elsewhere in Asia. China's Shanghai and Shenzhen 300 Index slid from a record on speculation the nation may raise interest rates and requirements for banks reserves. Markets in India and Pakistan were closed for holidays.

Europe
European mining and energy stocks, this year's worst performers, fell after declines in metals and oil raised concern earnings at BHP Billiton and Statoil ASA will slow. Benchmarks in the region were little changed.

ITV Plc and Vivendi SA led media stocks higher after a PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP report that the industry may be the target of 175 mergers and acquisitions this year.

The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index lost 0.2 percent to 372.73 as of 11:08 a.m. in London. The Stoxx 50 fell 0.1 per cent, as did the Euro Stoxx 50, a measure for the 13 nations sharing the euro.

Oil and basic resources stocks are the biggest decliners among 18 industry groups on the Stoxx 600 this year as investors bet sliding prices for fuel and metals will hurt earnings.

``It is more difficult to deliver positive surprises'' at commodity producers, said Joerg de Vries-Hippen, head of European large-capitalization equities at Allianz Global Investors in Frankfurt. Shares of ``makers of base metals might get cheaper.''

National benchmarks fell in 12 of the 18 western European markets. The UK's FTSE 100 lost 0.3 percent. France's CAC 40 slipped 0.1 percent. Germany's DAX was unchanged.