Asian stocks head north

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian stocks rose for a third day, with indexes in China, South Korea and Indonesia climbing to records and Australia, Singapore and Malaysia touching highs.

Samsung Electronics Co, the world's biggest maker of liquid-crystal display panels, rose after rival LG.Philips LCD reported a loss that was smaller than some analyst estimates.

"The LCD industry has entered a recovery phase and profitability is likely to continue to improve,'' said Kevin Yang, chief investment officer at Paradigm Asset Management Co, which oversees $360 million in assets. ``The worst is over.''

Rio Tinto Group led mining companies higher after copper prices advanced to a seven-month high and U.S.-based Alcoa Inc posted its most profitable quarter ever.

The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index added 0.3 per cent to 148.08 as of 7:29 p.m. in Tokyo, its highest since February 27. China's CSI 300 Index closed at its eighth straight record.

Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose less than 0.1 per cent, while the broader Topix index gained 0.2 per cent. Rail operators advanced, led by East Japan Railway Co. after Goldman, Sachs & Co. recommended investors buy the stock. Kubota Corp, Japan's largest maker of farm equipment, declined on a report that showed Japanese machinery orders slipped more than expected in February.

Benchmarks advanced in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand and Pakistan. They fell in Australia, Singapore and Malaysia after earlier climbing to all-time highs. Markets in New Zealand and the Philippines also declined.

US shares rose yesterday, boosted by improved profit outlooks for Intel Corp. and Exxon Mobil Corp. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained for an eighth day, the longest winning streak since March 2003.

Samsung, the world's largest liquid-crystal display maker and the No. 2 chipmaker, advanced 3.6 per cent to 599,000 won. AU Optronics, the third-biggest LCD maker, climbed 3.6 per cent to NT$52.20.

LG Philips, the world's second-largest maker of LCDs, yesterday reported a first-quarter net loss of 169 billion won ($181 million), compared with a 235 billion won median loss estimate of 13 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. The stock jumped 8.2 per cent to 35,050 won.

James Kim, a Seoul-based analyst for Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc, raised his rating on LG.Philips shares to "overweight" from "equal weight.'' He also increased his target price on the stock by 23 per cent to 40,000 won.

Banc of America Securities LLC said a "price war'' with Advanced Micro Devices Inc was unlikely to cause Intel to miss its first-quarter sales estimate. Shares of Intel Corp, the world's largest maker of semiconductors, climbed 2.9 per cent yesterday, the biggest advance in more than three months.