Weak yen spurs Asia

STOCK REPORT

Asian stocks rose to a seven-week high, led by Canon and Honda Motor Co after a decline in the yen boosted the value of their exports.

The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index added 1.2 per cent to 148.07 at 7:31 pm in Tokyo, as all 10 industry groups gained.

Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 1.5 per cent to 17,628.30, while the broader Topix index advanced 1.2 per cent. Markets gained elsewhere in the region, except in Taiwan, with benchmarks in Australia and China closing at records. Malaysia and Indonesia were also heading for new highs, while Thailand was closed for a holiday.

Canon, the world's biggest digital-camera maker, jumped 2.6 per cent to 6,620 yen. The company generates more than 75 per cent of its revenue overseas. Honda, Japan's second-biggest automaker by sales, rose 1.5 per cent to 4,050 yen. Honda made about 80 per cent of its total sales outside Japan last business year.

The euro climbed to a record 162.43 yen after the Group of Seven industrial nations stopped short of saying after a meeting on April 13 that the Japanese currency is too weak. Finance ministers and central bankers said they are confident disparities in global trade are starting to narrow and that world growth is more even, offsetting a slowdown in the US.

US
US stock and index futures rose on speculation mergers and acquisitions will continue after the 'Wall Street Journal' reported SLM Corp, the education lender known as Sallie Mae, accepted an offer.

Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures expiring in June advanced 3.3 to 1,464.50 as of 11:20 am in London. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 27 to 12,700. Nasdaq-100 Index futures increased 6 to 1,837.75.

Sallie Mae has accepted a $25 billion takeover offer from two US private-investment funds, together with JPMorgan Chase & Co and Bank of America Corp, the 'Wall Street Journal' reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter.

Europe
European stocks rose for a second day after ABN Amro Holding said banks including Royal Bank of Scotland group may offer to buy the company and Royal Philips Electronics reported profit that beat analysts' estimates.

The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index added 0.7 per cent to 385.89 at 12:03 pm in London. The Stoxx 50 rose 0.8 per cent, as did the Euro Stoxx 50, a measure for the 13 nations sharing the euro.

National benchmarks advanced in all of the 17 western European markets that were open except Luxembourg. The UK's FTSE 100 added 0.5 per cent. Germany's DAX rose 0.7 per cent and France's CAC 40 increased 0.6 per cent.

ABN Amro rallied 5.5 per cent to 35.51 euros. The bank, which last month started exclusive talks with Barclays, said late April 13 that it got a letter from Royal Bank of Scotland, Santander Central Hispano and Fortis, asking for "exploratory talks'' and saying they may offer to buy ABN Amro. ABN Amro reported today first-quarter profit rose to $1.78 billion.

Royal Bank of Scotland gained 3.5 per cent to 2,093 pence, and ING, the biggest Dutch financial-services company, climbed 1.6 per cent to 33.35 euros. Barclays shares rose 0.9 per cent to 750.5 pence.

Philips rose 3.6 per cent to 30.40 euros, the highest since June 2002. First-quarter profit jumped to 875 million euros from 160 million euros a year earlier because of a gain from the sale of a stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.

The company had been expected to report first-quarter net income of 832.3 million euros, the median estimates of 10 analysts Bloomberg News surveyed.