Asia at five-week high

GLOBAL MARKETS/ STOCK REPORT

Asian stocks rose to a five-week high, led by commodity-related companies after copper, oil, rice and wheat prices gained.

BHP Billiton, the world's largest mining company, advanced to a one-month high in Sydney, while Olam International, a supplier of food ingredients, jumped to the highest in five weeks in Singapore.

Posco, Asia's third-largest steelmaker, surged the most in six months after UBS AG said the company will boost profit. Toshiba Corp. climbed in Tokyo after saying it's in talks to build nuclear reactors in the US

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 1.2 per cent to 144.91 as of 7:27 pm in Tokyo, the highest since February 29, and extending yesterday's 3.2 per cent surge. A measure of raw-materials producers posted the biggest advance among the index's 10 industry groups.

Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 1.5 percent to 13,389.90. Toyota Motor Corp. dropped after brokerages downgraded Japanese carmakers.

Indonesia's Jakarta Composite Index slumped 3.8 percent on concern the central bank would raise interest rates to curb inflation. Bank Indonesia kept its key rate unchanged.

Europe
European stocks fell for the first time in three days as analysts cut earnings estimates for banks and Bayerische Landesbank reported $6.7 billion in writedowns. US index futures declined, while shares in Asia advanced.

Europe's Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index lost 0.7 per cent to 317.38 as of 1:36 pm in London, extending its decline this year to 13 percent as more than $232 billion in losses tied to the collapse of the US subprime market curbs profit growth.

Futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 0.5 per cent, and the MSCI Asia Pacific Index increased 1.3 per cent. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 lost 0.6 percent, and France's CAC 40 fell 0.7 percent.

Germany's DAX slipped 0.8 percent. Europe's Stoxx 50 dropped 0.6 percent and the Euro Stoxx 50, a measure for the euro zone, retreated 0.8 percent.

US
US stock-index futures fell after new claims for unemployment benefits topped economists' forecasts and UBS AG said a slowdown in business spending will hurt sales at Cisco Systems.

Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures expiring in June lost 9.1, or 0.7 per cent, to 1,361.8 at 8:58 am in New York. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dropped 69 to 12,550. Nasdaq- 100 Index futures fell 16 to 1,846.25.

Futures pointed to a second straight decline for the S&P 500 after the benchmark for American equities posted its best start to a second quarter in 70 years.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke yesterday acknowledged the economy may be in a recession, while billionaire George Soros said in an interview that stocks may fall more this year.