Metals, oil propel Asia rebound

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian mining and energy stocks advanced, led by BHP Billiton, after prices of metals and crude oil rebounded. Tokyo Electric Power Co led Japan's shares lower as rising bond yields reduce the appeal of company dividends.

Sumitomo Metal Mining Co, biggest nickel producer, rose for the first time in four days. Kansai Electric Power Co, Japan's second-biggest utility, fell to a six-month low.

The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index was little changed at 150.74 as of 4:05 p.m. in Tokyo. The Nikkei 225 slid 0.4 per cent after earlier rising as much as 0.2 per cent. Other benchmarks in the region rose, except in Hong Kong, Thailand

and India. China's rose for a sixth straight day, erasing earlier losses, as investors shrugged off concern that the fastest inflation in two years will trigger further increases in interest rates.

China's stocks rose for a sixth straight day, erasing earlier losses, as investors shrugged off concern that accelerating inflation will trigger further increases in interest rates.

US

US stock-index futures fell after Texas Instruments Inc, the world's biggest maker of mobile-phone chips, said second-quarter sales and profit will be below its highest estimates. Shares of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc, which didn't trade in Europe, may move before an earnings statement from the first of Wall Street's biggest firms to report.

Stocks recovered yesterday after surging Treasury yields sent both the Standard & Poor's 500 Index and Dow Jones Industrial Average to their steepest weekly slide since February. Still, options futures show traders are speculating the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates, a move likely to hurt earnings.

Dow Jones & Co might move. The controlling Bancroft family may send a revised proposal concerning the Wall Street Journal's editorial independence to Rupert Murdoch, who is bidding for the company, a report said. S&P 500 futures expiring in September slipped 3.20 to 1522 as of 11:17 a.m. in London. Dow futures slid 31 to 13,525 and Nasdaq-100 Index futures lost 3.25 to 1927.25.

Europe

European stocks declined, led by HBOS Plc, Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and Veolia Environnement SA. The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index fell 0.2 per cent to 388.28 at 11:45 a.m. in London. The Stoxx 50 also lost 0.2 per cent and the Euro Stoxx 50, a measure for the 13 nations sharing the euro, dropped 0.4 per cent. HBOS sank 5.1 per cent to 1,015 pence, the biggest decline since March 14.