BoJ blues spur scrips

STOCK REPORT

Asian stocks advanced, led by Mitsubishi Estate Co and Sumitomo Realty & Development Co, on speculation the Bank of Japan will refrain from raising its 0.25 percent benchmark interest rate tomorrow.

"Real-estate shares are being bought on the view that they will be able to continue borrowing at rock-bottom rates,'' said Yuuki Sakurai, an investment and planning manager at Tokyo-based Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance Co.

The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index added 0.2 percent to 140.23 at 7:23 p.m. in Tokyo. It earlier fell 0.9 percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 0.3 per cent to 17,261.35, reversing a 1.2 percent drop. The broader Topix Index added 0.2 percent.

The Shanghai and Shenzhen 300 Index, which tracks yuan- denominated A shares listed on China's two exchanges, slid 1.9 percent, Asia's biggest loser.

China Vanke Co. led developers lower after the government said it will toughen the collection of capital-gains taxes on land used in building projects. Stock benchmarks also fell in South Korea, Australia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines. They gained elsewhere in the region.

The Bank of Japan may not raise rates at a two-day policy meeting that begins today, the Nikkei newspaper and Kyodo News reported. The central bank may postpone a rate increase until it has a better grasp of the economy, the newspaper and wire service said.

"A delay by the Bank of Japan in raising interest rates won't be bad for the market,'' said Hideyuki Ookoshi, who oversees $365 million at Chiba-Gin Asset Management Co. in Tokyo.

US

US stock-index futures were little changed before government reports that may show inflation is still enough of a threat to stop the Federal Reserve from cutting interest rates. Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures expiring in March added 0.30 to 1439 as of 11:33 a.m. in London. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures advanced 1 to 12,629. Nasdaq-100 Index futures fell 2.5 to 1853.25.

Europe

European technology stocks rose after ASML Holding NV, the region's biggest maker of semiconductor equipment, said fourth-quarter profit almost quadrupled.

Benchmarks in the region were little changed. The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index rose 0.2 percent to 372.62 as of 11:43 a.m. in London. The Stoxx 50 increased 0.1 percent and the Euro Stoxx 50, a measure for the 13 nations sharing the euro, added less than 0.1 percent.