Asian shares rose, as oil traded above $60 U.S. a barrel and Goldman, Sachs & Co. said it was turning more positive on the transportation sector.
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average tacked on 54.35 points, or 0.6%, to 9,344.64, even after a government report showed the nation’s economy shrank by a record last quarter, triggering a gain in the yen and dollar.
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong eased back 68.19 points, or 0.4 %, to 17,475.84.
Mitsubishi Corp., a trading house that gets more than half its profit from commodities, climbed 5% in Tokyo as Goldman Sachs said stocks and commodity prices have bottomed. China Shipping Container Lines Co., the country’s No. 2 cargo- box carrier, jumped 4.7% in Hong Kong.
Handset maker HTC Corp. surged 4.9% in Taipei on optimism it will benefit from increased sales in Japan.
T&D Holdings Inc., Japan’s biggest life insurer, slumped 15% after posting a wider-than-estimated full-year loss. Billabong International Ltd., Australia’s largest surfwear maker, tumbled 17% after a share sale.
Goldman Sachs upgraded Mitsubishi to "buy" and lifted its view on Japanese trading houses to "attractive" on expectations growth in China will support demand for commodities.
Mitsui & Co., Mitsubishi’s closest rival, rose 5.9%.
Crude oil for July delivery rose as much as 1.7% to $60.65 U.S. a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after a U.S. industry report showed crude inventories declined and a fire at a Texas refinery curbed production. Crude closed at the highest since Nov. 10 yesterday.
Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd., Japan’s No. 3 shipping line, added 4.7%. The Baltic Dry Index, a measure of shipping costs for commodities, jumped for a 13th-straight session to a level not seen since Oct. 8.
China Shipping Container Lines jumped 4.7%. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd., Japan’s No. 2 shipping company, gained 2.1%. Pacific Basin Shipping Ltd., Hong Kong’s largest operator of commodity vessels, added 2%.
CHINA
Singapore’s shipments to China jumped 29% in March from February, and those from Japan, South Korea and Taiwan also increased. The Purchasing Manager’s Index rose to a seasonally adjusted 53.5 in April from 52.4 in March, China’s Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said on May 1.
A reading above 50 indicates an expansion.
Elsewhere:
China’s Shanghai 300 Composite Index gave back 27.22 points, or 1%, to 2,812.86
Singapore’s Straits Times Index advanced 8.88 points, or 0.4% to 2,269.24
South Korea’s Kospi index gained 7.49 points, or 0.5% to 1,435.70
Taiwan’s Taiex index improved 48.03 points, or 0.7% to 6,703.62
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index moved 10.28, or 0.4%, higher, to 2,801.08.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 7.30 points, or 0.2% to 3,824.60.
