Asian Stocks Climb as Bernanke Says Interest Rates Will Stay Low

Bloomberg (20/11) -- Asian stocks rose after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said low interest rates will continue in the U.S. long after the central bank ends its program of bond buying.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.2 percent to 143.06 as of 9:01 a.m. in Tokyo, on course for the highest closing level in three weeks. The gauge has risen this week after China pledged to execute economic reforms and Janet Yellen, the nominee to replace Bernanke, said she would continue U.S. stimulus. Retail sales in the U.S. probably returned to growth last month, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists before data due today. Bernanke, whose term as Fed chairman expires Jan. 31, said the U.S. labor market has shown “meaningful improvement” since the start of the central bank’s bond-buying program and that the benchmark interest rate will probably stay low long after the purchases end. Japan’s Topix index added 0.4 percent, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index sank 0.3 percent and South Korea’s Kospi index slipped 0.2 percent. New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index fell 0.5 percent. Markets in China and Hong Kong are yet to open.