29 Sep 2009
Sept. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks rose, led by oil and technology companies, as some investors bet the MSCI Asia Pacific Index's drop to a two-week low was overdone.
BHP Billiton Ltd., Australia's biggest oil producer, gained 2 percent after crude futures advanced. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. jumped 3.1 percent after a government official said the island may allow Chinese investors to buy stakes in its flat panel and chip industries. Nomura Holdings Inc., which announced a record share sale last week, climbed 3 percent after losing 22 percent in the past three days.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.4 percent to 116.42 as of 10:27 a.m. in Tokyo. The gain snapped a three-day fall of 2.4 percent, which was the longest series of declines since the six days ended July 8.
The drop was "overdone," said Fumiyuki Nakanishi, a strategist at Tokyo-based SMBC Friend Securities Co. The MSCI gauge has still risen 65 percent from a five-year low on March 9.
Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 0.7 percent to 10,082.40 as the yen weakened against the dollar and the euro. Stocks gained even as the statistics bureau reported that the country's consumer prices fell at a record pace in August.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index advanced 1.8 percent. New Zealand's NZX 50 Index added 0.7 percent in Wellington. South Korea's Kospi Index gained 0.5 percent.
