Cnooc leads Asia surge

GLOBAL MARKETS/ STOCK REPORT

Asian stocks climbed, sending a regional benchmark to a record, after crude-oil prices traded near a two-week high and HSBC Holdings raised its targets for Cnooc and PetroChina Co's shares.

China's CSI 300 Index gained 3.5 per cent, rebounding from a 7.5 per cent slump earlier. The measure had lost $402 billion of market value in the four days through yesterday since the government tripled a tax on stock trading.

The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index added 0.3 per cent to 152.89 at 7:19pm in Tokyo, set to surpass yesterday's record close of 152.43. Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock

Average gained 0.5 per cent. Benchmarks in South Korea, Malaysia and Pakistan climbed to records. MSCI's index of Asia-Pacific energy stocks rose 1.6 per cent after oil futures in New York yesterday climbed 1.7 percent to $66.21, the highest since May 21. Prices were recently at $65.82 in after-hours trading.

Europe
European stocks advanced on takeover speculation in the telecommunications industry and after brokerages advised investors to buy insurers and mining companies.

Vodafone Group Plc climbed after the Wall Street Journal said the mobile-phone company might be worth more split into parts, fuelling speculation it may be taken over.

Standard Life and Old Mutual gained after Merrill Lynch & Co raised its recommendation on both shares. Mining stocks rose after Xstrata said it's prepared to make an acquisition and Citigroup Inc raised its recommendation on BHP Billiton's shares.

The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index gained 0.1 per cent to 399.49 as of 11:35 a.m. in London, with the industry group for raw-materials companies leading advances. The index lost 0.3 per cent yesterday, halting a rally that pushed the measure to its highest since September 2000.

US
US stock-index futures were little changed before a service-industry report that may help investors gauge the pace of economic growth. Avaya Inc shares advanced in Europe after the company agreed to be acquired by Silver Lake Partners and TPG Inc in the largest leveraged buyout of a computer-networking company.

US equity benchmarks climbed to records again yesterday on analyst upgrades of Wal-Mart Stores Inc and a rise in oil prices that buoyed energy shares. A report on Tuesday may indicate whether expansion in services such as banking and retailing is providing enough momentum to overcome the effects of the housing slump.

Standard & Poor's 500 futures expiring in June rose 0.2 to 1540.3 as of 10:53am in London. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures added 5 to 13,683. Nasdaq 100 Index futures lost 0.5 to 1936.25.

China's CSI 300 Index rebounded on Tuesday from a drop of as much as 7.5 per cent. The measure had lost $402 billion of market value in the four days through yesterday since the government tripled a tax on stock trading. Asian stocks rose to a record on Tuesday while European equities also gained.

Service industry expansion in the US stayed close to a three-month high in May, helping the economy bounce back from its first-quarter slowdown, economists said before a report on Tuesday.