Asian stocks rose,as Australian business confidence jumped, computer-memory prices gained and gold rose above $1,000 U.S. an ounce.
The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo tacked on 72.29 points, or 0.7%, to 10,393.23.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index surged 440.50 points, or 2.1%, to 21,069.81.
National Australia Bank Ltd. climbed 3.8% in Sydney after the lender’s sentiment index jumped to a six-year high. Elpida Memory Inc., Japan’s largest maker of dynamic random access memory, gained 5.4% after the benchmark price for chips climbed to the highest level since August 2008.
Newcrest Mining Ltd., Australia’s number-one gold producer, jumped 3.7%.
National Australia Bank rose after its index of business confidence, based on a survey of more than 550 companies, climbed to the highest level since October 2003. Commonwealth Bank of Australia increased 2.1%.
National Australia today also scrapped an earlier forecast that the Australian economy would stagnate this year, saying gross domestic product will rise 0.6% in 2009 and 2.1% in 2010.
Governments globally have authorized more than $2 trillion U.S. in relief measures to bring an end to the worst slowdown since the Great Depression. Countries including Japan and Germany have already started to expand, while $485 billion U.S. of stimulus has helped China’s growth to reaccelerate.
In Japan, JVC Kenwood Holdings Inc. surged 31% as the Nikkei newspaper said the company may beat profit forecasts. Limiting gains, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. sank 1.8% as central bank figures showed loan growth slowed.
Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s largest maker of computer-memory chips, added 1%.
Advantest Corp., the world’s biggest maker of memory-chip testers, gained 1.5%. The company expects July-September orders for its chip-testing equipment to exceed levels for the preceding quarter, the Nikkei reported.
AU Optronics Corp. added 3% after Taiwan’s largest maker of liquid-crystal displays sold 23 million shares of United Microelectronics Corp. for a profit of NT$70.7 million ($2.2 million U.S.). AU Optronics also said sales in August rose 15.9% from the prior month.
Japan’s Nikkei has lost an average of 2.1% in September in the last two decades, compared with a 0.3% increase in other months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
In Sydney, Newcrest gained 3.7% as gold futures rose above $1,000 an ounce for the first time since February. Zijin Mining Group Co., China’s largest gold producer, jumped 7.8% in Hong Kong.
BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s number-one mining company, climbed 2.2%, while Rio Tinto Group, the world’s third-largest mining company, gained 2.2%. A gauge of six metals, including nickel and copper, climbed 0.7% in London yesterday to the highest close since Aug. 28.
Mitsubishi UFJ, Japan’s biggest publicly traded bank, retreated 1.8%, and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. sank 2.1%. Lending growth at Japanese banks slowed in August for an eighth-straight month, Bank of Japan figures showed today, as companies cut spending and unemployment climbed to a record.
In Seoul, SK Energy Co. surged 15% on speculation third-quarter earnings will rebound.
Farglory Land Development Co., Taiwan’s No. 1 construction company by value, surged by 6.9%.
Taiwan’s Premier Liu Chao-shiuan and his Cabinet will resign on Sept. 10 to take responsibility for the government’s poor response to a deadly typhoon last month.
Elsewhere:
Shanghai’s 300 Composite Index gained 66.76 points, or 2.2%, to 3,170.97
Singapore’s Straits Times Index picked up 16.96 points, or 0.6%, to 2,660.91
South Korea’s Kospi index added 11.12 points, or 0.7%, to 1,619.69
Taiwan’s Taiex moved 89.40 points, or 1.2%, higher to 7,313.99
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index was off 1.14 points, to 3,121.55
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed 69.40 points, or 1.6%, to 4,523.80.
