Asian Stocks Swing Between Gains, Losses on U.S. Earnings, Data

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Asian stocks swung between gains and losses as investors weighed better-than-estimated earnings from Apple Inc. and Facebook Inc. and an unexpected drop in home sales in the world��s largest economy.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell less than 0.1 percent 138.83 as of 9:25 a.m. in Tokyo, after rising less than 0.1 percent.

Japan Topix index lost 0.1 percent and Australia��s S&P/ASX 200 Index added 0.2 percent. Markets in China and Hong Kong are yet to open.

South Korea Kospi index gained 0.2 percent, with Samsung Electronics Co., a supplier of chips to Apple, rising 1.3 percent.

The nation economy expanded at a faster pace than forecast, showing momentum that could boost inflation pressures and build a case for a interest-rate increase.

Gross domestic product grew 0.9 percent in January-March period from the previous quarter, the Bank of Korea said today in a statement in Seoul, above the median 0.8 percent estimate of 13 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. From a year earlier, GDP increased 3.9 percent.

Source : Bloomberg