02 Jun 2009
June 2 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks rose after U.S. economic data added to signs the global recession is abating and General Motors Corp.'s bankruptcy raised optimism Asia's automakers will gain market share.Toyota Motor Corp., which overtook GM last year as the world's biggest carmaker, climbed 2.4 percent in Tokyo, while Kia Motors Corp. added 2.5 percent in Seoul. BHP Billiton Ltd., the world's largest mining company, gained 2.9 percent as oil and metal prices increased yesterday. STX Pan Ocean Co. Ltd., South Korea's biggest bulk carrier, jumped 5.5 percent as shipping rates rallied.
"The data continues to improve everywhere because of the extraordinary policy stimulus," said Stephen Halmarick, Sydney- based head of investment markets research at Colonial First State, which holds about $104 billion. "I'm just worried that the demand to meet all that production may not materialize, and that you get a significant relapse in the economic data over the second half of 2009."
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 1.1 percent to 105.13 at 1:34 p.m. in Tokyo. The gauge has risen 49 percent since falling to a more than five-year low on March 9 on speculation the worst of the financial crisis is over.
Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 1 percent to 9,775.58, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 1.7 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 0.3 percent, led by Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. sold a stake in the Chinese lender at a discount.
GM Bankruptcy
Also in Hong Kong, Parkson Retail Group Ltd., a department- store operator, fell 5.7 percent as its controlling shareholder sought to divest stock. Neptune Orient Lines Ltd., Southeast Asia's No.1 container carrier, surged 14 percent on plans to repay debt. EVA Airways Corp. surged 6.9 percent in Taipei after winning permission to raise ticket surcharges.
Futures of the Standard & Poor's 500 Index were little changed. The gauge climbed 2.6 percent in New York yesterday as reports on personal income, manufacturing and construction beat economists' forecasts. The yield on 10-year Treasuries surged the most in eight months as demand for the safety of government debt fell.
Toyota Motor added 2.4 percent to 3,910 yen. Honda Motor Co., which makes 51 percent of its revenue in North America, gained 3.1 percent to 2,845 yen. Kia Motor climbed 2.5 percent to 12,500 won.
GM, the world's largest carmaker until its 77-year reign ended last year, filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. yesterday with a plan to create a viable company that can compete in world markets. The Detroit-based automaker plans to sell unprofitable brands and close at least 11 factories before emerging as a new, smaller company in 60 to 90 days.
‘Huge Opportunity'
"For Japanese automakers, GM's collapse presents a huge opportunity to take market share," said Fumiyuki Nakanishi, a strategist at SMBC Friend Securities Co. in Tokyo. "All the bad news on GM is out, and that's a relief to the market."
Optimism that interest-rate cuts and $2.1 trillion of government spending will support global growth has helped drive the stock rally since March. MSCI's Asian gauge climbed 12 percent in May, its third monthly advance, and the longest winning streak since Bear Stearns Cos. filed for bankruptcy protection in July 2007 for two hedge funds.
The rally drove the average valuation of companies on MSCI's Asian index to 1.4 times the book value of assets on May 29, an increase of 17 percent from the end of 2008. Developing- nation stock funds attracted $12 billion of assets in the four weeks through May 27, according to EPFR Global, which tracks investment flows worldwide.
Share Sale
BHP rose 2.9 percent to A$36.77 in Sydney. Inpex Corp., Japan's largest oil explorer, gained 1.4 percent to 787,000 yen. Crude oil futures gained 3.4 percent to $68.58 a barrel in New York yesterday, the highest settlement since Nov. 4. Copper futures surged 5.5 percent.
STX Pan Ocean climbed 5.5 percent to 14,350 won in Seoul. The Baltic Dry Index, which measures the cost of shipping commodities, rose 5.4 percent in London yesterday, its 21st day of gains.
Yesterday's U.S. data added to signs the global economy is recovering from its worst slowdown since World War II. A Chinese purchasing manager's index yesterday showed the country's manufacturing industry expanded for a third month. Japan's government last week raised its assessment of the economy for the first time in three years.
ICBC dropped 2.9 percent to HK$4.96 in Hong Kong. Goldman Sachs offered 3.03 billion shares, or a 0.9 percent stake in ICBC, as China's largest bank is known, at HK$4.80 to HK$4.90 each, according to a sale document e-mailed to fund managers yesterday.
‘Constant Rumor'
Parkson Retail slumped 5.7 percent to HK$11.62. A shareholder had offered 55 million shares at HK$11.71 to HK$12.07 apiece, according to an e-mail sent to investors by UBS AG, the sale's arranger. Parkson said the shares were being sold by its controlling shareholder PRG Corp.
Neptune Orient jumped 14 percent to S$1.74. The company plans to raise S$1.44 billion ($1 billion) selling new shares to repay debt.
"The constant rumor that NOL would be involved in a potential rights issue has been around for a while now," said Andrew Lee, an analyst at Nomura Securities in Hong Kong. "Now that it has happened, investors who were holding back are now buying into the stock."
In Taipei, EVA Airways surged 6.9 percent to NT$9.76, while China Airlines Ltd. climbed 3.3 percent to NT$8.99. The carriers, Taiwan's two biggest, won government permission to raise ticket surcharges by as much as 25 percent to offset higher fuel prices.
