Asian steel scrips soar

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian steelmaker stocks advanced on speculation Posco will become a takeover target and after JFE Steel Corp said it's considering a broader alliance with the Hyundai group of South Korea.

The reports are a "further confirmation of a global reorganisation trend in the steel industry and is supportive of share prices,'' said Hiroyoshi Nakagawa, who helps manage about $1 billion in Asian equities at Societe Generale Asset Management Co in Tokyo.

The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index slipped 0.10 point to 140.61 at 6:50 pm in Tokyo. Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 0.3 per cent to 17,470.46, while the broader Topix index rose 0.3 per cent. Tokyo Electric Power Co advanced on speculation utility companies will boost returns to shareholders with higher dividend payments.

China's Shanghai and Shenzhen 300 Index surged 2.6 per cent to a record close. China Minsheng Banking Corp gained on speculation forthcoming listing of Industrial Bank Co and Ping An Insurance (Group) Co will boost demand for financial stocks.

Posco, the world's third-largest steelmaker, climbed 2 per cent to 325,000 won. Roland Junck, Arcelor Mittal's former chief executive officer, will meet Posco Chief Executive Lee Ku Taek and other company officials in Seoul on February 1, the Chosun Ilbo reported, citing an unidentified Posco official.

US US stock index futures were little changed before earnings reports from Verizon Communications, the second-largest US telephone company, and Schering-Plough Corp, the maker of Clarinex and Nasonex allergy drugs.

Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures expiring in March lost 0.60 to 1427 as of 9:37 am in London. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures declined 10 to 12,513. Nasdaq-100 Index futures dropped 0.75 to 1778.50.

Verizon Communications declined 23 cents in Germany. Schering-Plough fell 20 cents to $24.87 in Germany. Microsoft rose 9 cents to $30.69 in Germany.

Europe

European stocks rose for the first time in three days after Infineon Technologies reported earnings that topped analysts' estimates and Hochtief climbed on takeover speculation.

Deutsche Telekom led telecommunication shares lower after the region's biggest phone company cut its profit forecast.

The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index added 0.1 per cent to 372.87 as of 10:56 am in London. The Stoxx 50 also rose 0.1 per cent, and the Euro Stoxx 50, a measure for the 13 nations sharing the euro, gained 0.3 per cent.

Stocks in Europe snapped a four-week rally last week after disappointing results damped prospects for profit growth.

Infineon has joined Nokia Oyj in posting better-than-expected earnings, bolstering confidence in growth forecasts.

Analysts raised 2007 profit estimates for companies in the Stoxx 600 to 9.2 per cent, up from 8.3 per cent in December, according to FactSet Research Systems in London.

National benchmarks rose in all 18 western European markets except Austria and Greece. The UK's FTSE 100 added less than 0.1 per cent and France's CAC 40 gained 0.3 per cent. Germany's DAX Index advanced 0.2 per cent.