Bloomberg (24/10) -- Asian stocks rose, with the regional benchmark
index erasing losses, as earnings at companies from Hitachi Ltd. to LG
Household & Health Care Ltd. beat estimates.Hitachi, a maker
of electronic equipment, jumped 8.4 percent in Tokyo. LG Household
climbed 6.2 percent in Seoul. Nine Dragons Paper Holdings Ltd. advanced
6.7 percent in Hong Kong after Deutsche Bank AG raised its equity rating
on the maker of packaging materials. Agricultural Bank of China Ltd.
paced declines among mainland lenders after the country’s money-market
rates surged.The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.2 percent to
142.97 as of 5:25 p.m. in Tokyo, erasing losses of as much as 0.5
percent. About five shares gained for every four that fell on the the
measure, which yesterday snapped a four-day advance. The gauge climbed
to a five-month high on Oct. 22 amid speculation the Federal Reserve
will delay tapering stimulus.“For the time being, until we get
an earnings shock, people are probably quite happy to support equity
markets globally,” Tim Schroeders, a portfolio manager who helps oversee
$1 billion in equities at Pengana Capital Ltd. in Melbourne, said by
telephone. “We’ll continue to see stimulatory policies from the Fed.
Chinese interest rates are a concern but it looks manageable at this
stage.”Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.3 percent.
Japan’s Topix index rose 0.6 percent, erasing losses of as much as 0.8
percent. South Korea’s Kospi index added 0.5 percent. Taiwan’s Taiex
index climbed 0.2 percent, and Singapore’s Straits Times Index gained
0.3 percent.India’s S&P BSE Sensex index was little changed,
erasing gains of as much as 1.3 percent earlier when it briefly touched
an all-time closing high. New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index fell 0.9 percent,
also retreating from a record high. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped
0.7 percent.
