Profits fuel Asia scrips

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian stocks rose to a record after Korea Electric Power Corp reported higher earnings and United Microelectronics Corp forecast an increase in profit.

Benchmarks in South Korea, Singapore, Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia climbed to new highs as all 10 industry groups that make up the Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific excluding Japan Index gained.

The MSCI regional index climbed 0.9 per cent to 434.27 as of 6:57 pm in Hong Kong, set to surpass its April 18 record close of 433.17. All markets open for trading gained, except in the Philippines, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Benchmarks in China and Japan are closed for holidays today and tomorrow.

Korea Electric rose 1.8 per cent to 39,950 won, the highest since February 27. Net income for the three months to March 31 climbed to 775.3 billion won ($833.4 million) from 732.3 billion won a year earlier, the Seoul-based company said today.

Korean Air Lines Co, South Korea's largest carrier, jumped 4.2 per cent to 46,800 won. First-quarter profit rose 2.7 per cent from a year earlier to 130.8 billion won as it flew more international passengers and paid less for fuel, it said.

PT International Nickel Indonesia, the nation's second-largest producer of the metal, gained 4.5 per cent to 63,400 rupiah.

US

US stock and index futures fell before a report on productivity that may limit the Federal Reserve's scope to lower interest rates.

Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures expiring in June lost 1 to 1,500.10 as of 12:13 pm in London. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 8 to 13,240. Nasdaq-100 Index futures added 1.75 to 1,900.50.

Data on first-quarter productivity and labour costs due for release today may raise concern inflation will be slow to recede, economists said.

Europe

European stocks retreated from a 6 1/2-year high after UBS, the world's biggest asset manager, and German carmaker Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW) reported earnings that missed analysts' estimates.

The Stoxx 600 lost 0.2 per cent to 387.97 at 11:55 am in London. The Stoxx 50 decreased 0.1 per cent, and the Euro Stoxx 50, a measure for the 13 nations sharing the euro, fell 0.2 per cent.

National benchmarks fell in 11 of the 18 western European markets. Germany's DAX sank 0.2 per cent, while France's CAC 40 slipped 0.2 per cent. The UK's FTSE added 0.4 per cent.