Bullish oil lifts Asia scrips

STOCK REPORT

Asian energy stocks rose, led by BHP Billiton and CNOOC, after oil traded near a six-month high on concern supplies from the Middle East will be disrupted.

The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index was little changed at 144.90 at 7:25 pm in Tokyo. A measure of energy stocks climbed 1.3 per cent. The benchmark is heading for a 3.1 per cent gain this quarter.

Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 0.1 per cent to 17,263.94, while the broader Topix index was little changed. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 1.4 per cent, the most in the region.

Other markets rose, except in China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

BHP, the world's largest mining company which gets about a fifth of its sales from oil, added 0.8 per cent to A$29.71. CNOOC, China's biggest offshore oil producer, added 3.2 per cent to HK$6.83 in Hong Kong. Japan Petroleum Exploration Co, the country's second-biggest oil exporter, climbed 1.8 per cent to 8,500 yen.

Oil yesterday rose 1.8 per cent to $64.08 a barrel in New York, the highest close since September 11, as UK Prime Minister Tony Blair stepped up a diplomatic push on Iran to release 15 naval personnel, heightening tension in the Middle East. Oil was recently at $63.80 in after-hours trading.

US
US stock and index futures rose after the economy last quarter expanded at a faster rate than the government first reported, while inflation eased.

Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures expiring in June added 7.6 to 1437.2 at 8:59 am in New York. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 74 to 12,462 and Nasdaq-100 Index futures rose 10.5 to 1800.75.

Core personal consumption, a price gauge tied to spending patterns and excluding food and energy costs that is the Fed's preferred measure of inflation, increased at a 1.8 per cent rate, down from the initial estimate of 1.9 per cent. The measure rose at a 2.2 per cent rate in the third quarter.

Europe
European stocks advanced for the first time in four days after US reports showed the world's biggest economy grew faster than economists estimated and inflation eased.

The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index advanced 1 per cent to 373.63 at 2:38 pm in London, with all 18 industry groups rising. The measure has increased 2.3 per cent so far this quarter.

The Stoxx 50 added 0.9 per cent on Thursday. The Euro Stoxx 50, a measure for the 13 nations sharing the euro, rose 1.1 per cent.

National benchmarks rose in all 18 markets in western Europe. France's CAC 40 added 1.2 per cent, Germany's DAX gained 1 per cent and the UK's FTSE 100 climbed 0.8 per cent.

Compass advanced 5.2 per cent to 336.75 pence. The caterer said sales in the first five months of the fiscal year beat its targets as the company won more profitable contracts.

KarstadtQuelle gained 2.5 per cent to 27.75 euros. The retailer reported its first annual profit since 2003 after selling real estate and improving sales in its department stores.

Air France-KLM rose 2.8 per cent to 34.17 euros. The carrier may cut costs by 1 billion ($1.3 billion) to 1.5 billion euros when it announces annual results on May 24, Challenges magazine said, without saying where it got the information.