Asian
stocks rose as data showed Japan™s economy exiting recession, with the
Nikkei 225 Stock Average closing above 18,000 for the first time since
2007. Financial shares led the advance.
Mitsubishi
UFJ Financial Group Inc., Japan™s biggest lender, gained 3.1 percent as
the biggest boost to the regional index. Electric-car maker BYD Co.
jumped 11 percent in Hong Kong on speculation Apple Inc. will enter the
industry. Noble Group Ltd. slumped 8.3 percent after the trading company
rejected a research report questioning its accounting practices.
Utilities were the only group on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index to decline,
with New Zealand™s Contact Energy Ltd. dropping 9 percent after
first-half profit plunged.
The
MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 0.3 percent to 143.37 as of 4:03 p.m. in
Hong Kong. The Topix index rose 0.7 percent after Japan™s gross domestic
product increased at an annualized 2.2 percent in the three months
ended Dec. 31 after a two-quarter contraction. Analysts surveyed by
Bloomberg News expected a 3.7 percent increase.
Japan
fell into recession after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe increased the sales
tax in April. Business spending in the three months ended Dec. 31 rose
0.1 percent from the previous quarter, while private consumption
increased 0.3 percent.
Source : Bloomberg
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