Asian stocks rebound

GLOBAL MARKETS/ STOCK REPORT

Asian stocks rose for the first time in four days, led by Aiful Corp, after consumer spending unexpectedly climbed in Japan and investors judged that recent declines were excessive.

Aiful, Japan's biggest lender to individuals, rose 1.3 per cent and Australia & New Zealand Banking Group climbed from a three-month low. PetroChina, the world's largest company by market value, slid to a five-week low after crude oil and metal prices declined.

"The market has sold off excessively and we are looking for buying opportunities," said Leslie Phang, who helps manage $1 billion at Commonwealth Private Bank in Singapore. "The question is will the slowing economy derail demand for commodities? Current price levels are not sustainable."

The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia Pacific Index added 0.1 per cent to 158.49 as of 6:52 pm in Tokyo, after a three-day 5.4 per cent slump. Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average slid 0.5 per cent to 15,126, its eighth straight loss.

The index earlier gained 0.3 per cent after the Cabinet Office said the economy expanded an annualised 2.6 per cent in the quarter ended September 30.

EUROPE
European stocks fell to a two-month low, paced by energy and basic-resource producers as investors speculated slowing US growth will hurt demand for commodities.

The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index lost 0.7 per cent to 365.28 as of 10:13 am in London, erasing its gain for 2007. Energy companies and basic-resource stocks have outperformed the benchmark so far this year, driven by surging commodity prices.

National benchmarks fell in all 18 western European markets. France's CAC 40 and Germany's DAX lost 0.6 per cent, the UK's FTSE 100 slid 0.4 per cent. The Stoxx 50 dropped 0.4 per cent and the Euro Stoxx 50, an index for the euro region, sank 0.6 per cent.

US
US stock-index futures advanced on speculation that earnings for some industries will continue to grow.

Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures, expiring in December, climbed 6.7 points to 1,446.90 as of 9:21 am in London. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures increased 57 points to 13,047. Nasdaq-100 Index futures added 3 points to 1,992.50.

US stocks dropped for a fourth day on Monday, the longest stretch of declines in eight months, after commodity prices slipped on concerns of slowing economic growth.