Asian Stocks Rise as Japanese Exporters Rally on Weak Yen
TOKYO. April 22. KAZINFORM - Asian stocks rose for a second day, led by Japanese exporters as the yen slid to a four-year low against the U.S. dollar after the Bank of Japan's stimulus policies were unopposed at a Group of 20 meeting.
Nissan Motor Co. (7201), a Japanese carmaker that gets 79 percent of sales overseas, climbed 3.4 percent. JTekt Corp. jumped 9.1 percent in Tokyo after the auto-parts supplier posted earnings that beat surpassed analyst expectations. OZ Minerals Ltd., Australia's third-biggest copper producer, dropped 6 percent after cutting its production target and raising cost estimates.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.6 percent to 137.07 as of 10:17 a.m. in Tokyo, with about four shares rising for each that fell. The measure increased 5.4 percent this year through last week amid signs the U.S. economy is recovering and as Japanese equities rallied on speculation the BOJ will step up efforts to simulate its economy.
"We're just at the beginning of a prolonged rally in Asian equities," Kenneth Taubes, chief investment officer of Pioneer Investments, which oversees about $249 billion, said in a Bloomberg Television interview from Hong Kong. "It's a clear path for Japan to continue with what it has previously announced -- it's been validated by the G-20. I'm pretty optimistic and stocks, relative to fixed-income instruments, look very, very attractive."
Kuroda Emboldened
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average (NKY) climbed 1.9 percent, heading for its highest close since July 2008. The Japanese yen fell to 99.85 per dollar at 10:19 a.m. in Tokyo. A weaker yen boosts the value of Japanese exporters' overseas income when repatriated.
BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda emerged from the G-20 meeting saying he was emboldened to press ahead with the campaign to defeat deflation. The central bank meets this week after pledging April 4 to double the monetary base in two years.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index added 0.4 percent, while New Zealand's NZX 50 Index advanced 0.7 percent. South Korea's Kospi Index (KOSPI) lost 0.2 percent. Markets in Hong Kong and China have yet to open.
Shares on the benchmark MSCI Asia Pacific Index (MXAP) traded at 13.9 times estimated earnings compared with 14.1 for the Standard & Poor's 500 Index and 12.4 times for the Stoxx Europe 600 Index, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
S&P 500 futures rose 0.3 percent today. The gauge increased 0.9 percent on April 19, paring its first monthly decline since October, as companies from Microsoft Corp. to Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. posted better-than-anticipated earnings. The combination of this month's retreat in global equities and gains by U.S. consumer stocks has made American companies the five biggest in the world for the first time in eight years.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan Burgos in Singapore at jburgos4@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Gentle at ngentle2@bloomberg.net
Source: BLOOMBERG NEWS