Asian stocks rose, as commodity prices climbed and consumer prices fell in China, making it easier for the government to maintain low interest rates.
Japan's Nikkei 225 leaped 204.67 points, or 2.1% to 9,991.49, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng made up for two stiff declines by posting a gain of 727.17 points, or 4%, to 18,785.66.
Fortescue Metals Group Ltd., Australia’s third-largest iron ore producer, soared 15%, while Mitsubishi Corp., a trading company that gets more than half its profit from commodities, climbed 6.3% in Tokyo.
Bank of China Ltd., the nation’s third-largest by market value, rallied 8.3% in Hong Kong on speculation loan demand will pick up. David Jones Ltd., Australia’s number-two department store chain, surged 5.6% as a consumer confidence index surged.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose to an eight-month high as Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd., the country’s second-biggest bulk shipper, surged 5.5% on brokerage recommendations. In Taipei, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. climbed 3.7% after saying the worst is over for the global chip industry.
Signs of a global recovery have increased in recent weeks, fueling the stock rally since March. Australia unexpectedly reported growth in its economy last week, while Japan’s government two weeks ago raised its view of the economy for the first time in three years.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development plans to upgrade its assessment of the global economy this month for the first time in two years, the Japan’s Nikkei newspaper said today, without saying where it got the information.
An Australian consumer sentiment index compiled by Westpac Banking Corp. and the Melbourne Institute that was released today showed an increase of 12.7% in June from the previous month to 100.1 points. It’s the first time since January 2008 that the index was above 100, indicating optimists outnumber pessimists.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the nation’s second-biggest lender, added 2.6%. Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd., Australia’s biggest electronics retailer, climbed 3.3%.
Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd., Japan’s third-biggest shipping line, jumped 6.4%, while Nippon Yusen K.K., the largest, rose 4.4%, after experts gave "outperform" ratings to both.
United Microelectronics Corp., the world’s second-biggest maker of custom semiconductors, gained 2.8%. Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s largest computer memory chipmaker, jumped 3.9%.
Shinsegae, which runs South Korea’s biggest discount-store chain, climbed 6.6% after saying sales in May rose 20%. Lotte Shopping Co., South Korea’s biggest department-store chain, added 7%.
CHINA
Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd., the nation’s biggest maker of the lightweight metal, advanced 8.8%.
Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., the country’s largest lender, rose 5.9%. China Mobile Ltd., the world’s biggest wireless carrier by users, added 4.5% Consumer prices dropped 1.4% in May from a year earlier, China’s statistics bureau said today, more than the 1.3% drop expected by economists in a Bloomberg News survey.
The People’s Bank of China has boosted credit this year by scrapping restrictions on growth in new loans and keeping the one-year lending rate at a four-year low of 5.31%.
Elsewhere:
China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained another 29.04 points, or 1%, to 2,989.60
Singapore’s Straits Times Index picked up 41.35 points, or 1.8%, to 2,391.22
South Korea’s Kospi index advanced 43.04 points, or 3.1% to 1,414.88
Taiwan’s Taiex climbed 47.88 or 0.8%, to 6,462.27
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index added 5.57 points, or 0.2% to 2,827.97
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 zoomed 89.50 or 2.3% to climb through the 4,000-point barrier at 4,024.40
