Q3 earnings booster

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian stocks approached a record after Nikon Corp and Olympus Corp raised profit forecasts, and Toyota Motor Corp posted earnings that beat analyst estimates.

"Third-quarter earnings have turned out solid overall and there's still room for further increases for this year,'' said Hideo Arimura, who helps look after $16 billion at Dai-Ichi Kangyo Asset Management Co in Tokyo.

The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index gained 0.8 per cent to 143.21 at 6:36 pm in Tokyo, just shy of the record close of 143.25 set on May 8. All of its 10 industry groups advanced. Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 0.4 per cent, while the broader Topix index rose 0.9 per cent.

Nikon, the world's fifth-largest digital camera maker, jumped 5.4 per cent to 2,750 yen. The company increased its profit forecast for this business year after posting an 80 per cent gain in its third-quarter net income.

Olympus, the fourth-biggest digital camera maker, advanced 3.9 per cent to 4,050 yen. Olympus also raised its profit projection by 13 per cent and said its net income climbed 59 per cent for the quarter ended December 31.

Toyota, the world's second-largest automaker, rose 1.8 per cent to 7,960 yen.

US

US stock and index futures were little changed before earnings reports from Cisco Systems, the world's biggest maker of computer networking equipment, and conglomerate Tyco International.

"All eyes will be on Cisco,'' said Nick Skiming, a fund manager at Ashburton in Jersey, Channel Islands, which oversees $1.5 billion. "It will provide a leading indicator of where the technology sector is going.''

Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures expiring in March rose 0.10 to 1453.8 as of 9:53 am in London. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 6 to 12,709. Nasdaq-100 Index futures added 1.5 to 1807.

Europe

European stocks rose for a fourth day after brokers recommended buying shares of banks and UBS raised its price estimate for Tesco and William Morrison Supermarkets.

The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index added 0.3 per cent to 380.32 as of 8:50 am in London. The Stoxx 50 gained 0.4 per cent and the Euro Stoxx 50, a measure for the 13 nations sharing the euro, increased 0.3 per cent.

Stocks in Europe are trading at a six-year high after the Federal Reserve last week signalled the US economy is expanding without prompting inflation. Takeover speculation and some better-than-expected earnings also lifted shares.