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Asian stocks at 2-week high

GLOBAL MARKETS/ STOCK REPORT

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Bloomberg Mumbai
Asian stocks rose to a two-week high. Takeda Pharmaceutical Co led gains among Japanese drugmakers as two companies said they are in merger talks, boosting speculation there will be more industry takeovers.
 
"Pharmaceuticals is a very, very profitable business, so they have a lot of cash to use for things like buyouts," said Masaki Iso, who oversees $7.3 billion at Yasuda Asset Management Co in Tokyo.
 
"The M&A trend is now expanding into industries such as pharmaceuticals. The drug market is not expanding, so it's a good candidate."
 
Woodside Petroleum, Australia's second-biggest oil producer, and PetroChina Co, China's largest oil company, rose after crude oil prices rebounded from a 19-month low. Samsung Electronics Co, the world's No. 2 chipmaker, fell after Apple's profit forecast trailed expectations, raising concern sales to its customer could decline.
 
The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index added 0.2 per cent to 140.55 as of 7 pm in Tokyo, the highest close since January 4. Measures of health-care and energy stocks rose 1.3 per cent and 1.4 per cent, respectively, the biggest gains among the benchmark's 10 industry groups.
 
Japan's Nikkei 225 advanced 0.6 per cent to 17,370.93, the highest in almost nine months, and the broader Topix index added 0.5 per cent. Markets rose around the region, with benchmarks in Singapore and India climbing to all-time highs.
 
A Bank of Japan decision to leave interest rates unchanged in Asia's largest economy had little impact on the nation's benchmarks. News services, including the Nikkei newspaper, said the move was likely in reports yesterday and today.
 
"The BOJ's decision was already priced into the market since the newspaper reports," said Tomokatsu Mori, who helps oversee $7.4 billion at Fukoku Capital Management in Tokyo. "Investors paid attention instead to mergers and acquisitions news, like the one driving drugmaker shares today."
 
Woodside Petroleum climbed 2.5 per cent to A$36.60 and PetroChina Co gained 2 per cent to HK$9.58. Inpex Holdings, Japan's largest, rose 2.7 per cent to 943,000 yen. Crude oil closed 2 per cent higher at $52.24 a barrel yesterday in New York, after touching $50.28, the lowest intraday price since May 25, 2005. It recently traded at $52.41.
 
US
US stock-index futures were little changed on concern a pickup in consumer prices may dissuade the Federal Reserve from cutting interest rates soon. The December inflation report was offset by a drop in initial jobless claims and an unexpected increase in housing starts.
 
Merrill Lynch & Co. gained after the third-largest securities firm by market value reported higher-than-expected earnings. Semiconductor companies dropped after Lam Research Corp, a maker of equipment for chip factories, forecast profit below analysts' projections.
 
Europe
European stocks rose for the first time in three days after gains in metals and energy prices pushed commodity producers higher and Alstom SA said sales increased on demand for railcars from Asia.
 
The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index climbed 0.4 per cent to 373.23 at 1:37 pm in London. The Stoxx 50 increased 0.3 per cent and the Euro Stoxx 50, a measure for the 13 nations sharing the euro, added 0.5 per cent.

 
 

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First Published: Jan 19 2007 | 12:00 AM IST

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