22 Apr 2009
April 22 (Bloomberg) -- Most Asian stocks rose, led by technology companies after Elpida Memory Inc. said it plans to raise memory-chip prices. Telecommunications shares declined.Elpida, Japan's biggest maker of computer-memory chips, surged 14 percent. Macquarie Group Ltd. climbed 2.3 percent in Sydney, pacing gains by financial companies after Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said most U.S. banks have enough capital, fueling optimism the financial crisis is abating. KDDI Corp., Japan's No. 2 mobile-phone carrier, dropped 3.5 percent, after Deutsche Bank AG said the company's growth is slowing.
Five stocks advanced for every four that declined on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index, which gained 0.4 percent to 88.71 at 1:57 p.m. in Tokyo. The gauge has climbed 26 percent from a five-year low on March 9 amid speculation government measures will succeed in easing the global recession.
"When markets move so strongly there is some imperative to participate, but I don't think there's a great deal of clarity about where the post-crisis fundamentals are going to settle," said Karma Wilson, Sydney-based head of Asian equities at AMP Capital Investors, which manages about $90 billion.
Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 0.5 percent while South Korea's Kospi index rose 1.4 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index lost 0.1 percent. All other markets advanced except Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and Pakistan.
Pioneer Corp., which makes car audio and navigation systems, climbed 19 percent in Tokyo after the Nikkei newspaper said Japan's government may provide funds to the company. Pacific Basin Shipping Ltd. gained 2.6 percent in Hong Kong after cargo rates climbed for a seventh-straight day. Aristocrat Leisure Ltd., the world's second-largest maker of slot machines, tumbled 14 percent in Sydney after selling shares.
Bank Stress Tests
Futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 0.5 percent. The gauge climbed 2.1 percent in New York yesterday after Treasury Secretary Geithner said the vast majority of U.S. banks have more capital than they need to be considered well capitalized. The Federal Reserve is overseeing assessments of the health of the 19 biggest U.S. banks, with results to be released on May 4.
Finance and technology companies contributed about 60 percent of the advance on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index. Companies on the gauge are trading at an average valuation of 18 times reported profit, close to the highest level since November 2007.
Macquarie, Australia's largest investment bank, jumped 2.3 percent to A$30.35. Westpac Banking Corp., the country's biggest bank by value, rose 1.2 percent to A$19.97. Nomura Holdings Inc., Japan's No. 1 brokerage, climbed 4.5 percent to 604 yen.
Price Increases
An index of finance companies on MSCI's Asian index has slumped 45 percent in the past 12 months as the credit crisis deepened. Worldwide losses tied to distressed loans and securitized assets may reach $4.1 trillion by the end of 2010, the International Monetary Fund said yesterday.
"Excess pessimism has been corrected, and it's about time to see if there is a sign the economy will start getting better," said Masaru Hamasaki, a senior strategist at Toyota Asset Management Co., which oversees about $3.3 billion.
A government report today showed Japan's export slump slowed in March, ending a four-month streak of record drops. Overseas shipments slumped 45.6 percent from a year earlier compared with February's unprecedented 49.4 percent plunge, the Finance Ministry said.
Elpida surged 14 percent to 1,237 yen. The company plans to raise prices by as much as 50 percent next month after industry wide production cuts eased the glut that drove chipmakers to record losses, Elpida President Yukio Sakamoto said in an interview yesterday.
KDDI, Pioneer
Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest maker of computer-memory chips, gained 3.2 percent to 610,000 won in Seoul. Hynix Semiconductor Inc., the world's No. 2 producer, climbed 14 percent to 16,550 won.
KDDI lost 3.5 percent to 448,000 yen, while Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp., the nation's biggest phone provider, sank 1.3 percent to 3,670 yen. Kenji Nishimura, a Deutsche Bank analyst, lowered his price estimate on KDDI by 16 percent to 525,000 yen.
Pioneer surged 19 percent to 326 yen. The government is considering an equity investment of about 30 billion yen ($304 million) because it's concerned about the electronics maker's finances, the Nikkei newspaper said today, without saying where it got the information.
Pacific Basin, Hong Kong's biggest operator of commodity vessels, added 2.6 percent to HK$4.30 after the Baltic Dry Index of commodity-shipping costs climbed for a seventh-straight day yesterday to the highest level in a month. Nippon Yusen K.K., Japan's biggest shipping line, added 3.6 percent to 453 yen.
Aristocrat tumbled 14 percent to A$3.41. The company completed a sale of 61.5 million shares at A$3.25 apiece to institutional investors, raising approximately A$200 million ($141 million).
