The Rise of Asian Stocks for Fifth Day

Asian stocks rose for a fifth day, set for the highest close this month.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Rinker Group Ltd. led gains among exporters after the U.S. reported a bigger-than- expected increase in housing starts, easing concern a property slump will derail expansion in the world's largest economy.

``The U.S. is a very developed economy, so it will be more resilient than many people have expected,'' said Phil Chen, who manages $154 million at Grand Cathay Securities Investment Trust Co. in Taipei. ``Sustainable U.S. demand will help support Asian exporters' profit outlook.''

The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Excluding Japan Index climbed 0.2 percent to 399.81 as of 1:52 p.m. in Hong Kong. It hasn't closed higher since Feb. 27, when the biggest drop in China's shares in a decade sparked a global rout that erased $3.3 trillion of market value in five days. Japan's markets are shut today for the vernal equinox holiday.

BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto Group paced gains among mining stocks after copper prices extended a rally to a three-month high after the housing report damped concern U.S. demand will flag. PetroChina Co. and PTT Pcl declined after crude oil for May delivery fell yesterday for the third time in four days.

Australia's S&P/ASX200 Index lost 0.3 percent, led by property stocks including Westfield Group, after an economic report heightened speculation the central bank will raise interest rates. LG Card Co. led losses in South Korea, slumping by South Korea's exchange-imposed daily limit of 15 percent on concern selling will pick up following the completion of a public offer for shares in the card company.

U.S. Housing

Benchmarks also slid in Hong Kong, Indonesia and Thailand, while elsewhere in the region they advanced. In the U.S., the housing report contributed to the biggest two-day gain the Standard & Poor's 500 Index has had since August.

Taiwan Semiconductor, the biggest maker of customized chips, rose 0.7 percent to NT$69.70. Rinker, the largest supplier of cement blocks in the U.S., climbed 1.1 percent to A$18.04. Rinker gets more than 80 percent of its sales in the U.S.

A Commerce Department report showed housing starts rebounded in February from a nine-year low. Builders broke ground on new homes at an annual rate of 1.525 million last month, exceeding the average economist forecast of a 1.45 million unit pace.

Copper prices in New York climbed for the fifth session in a row, adding 0.4 percent, following the report. Builders are the biggest users of copper, putting about 400 pounds in to the average U.S. home, according to data from the Copper Development Association.

Copper, Oil

BHP, the world's biggest mining company by market value and production, rose 0.5 percent to A$28.82. Rio Tinto, the second- biggest by market value and third by production, gained 0.3 percent to A$75.81.

Crude oil prices yesterday fell 0.8 percent to $59.25 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures were recently at $59.51 a barrel.

PetroChina, the country's largest oil explorer, fell 0.8 percent to HK$8.54. PTT, Thailand's largest energy company, lost 1 percent to 202 baht. Woodside Petroleum Ltd., the largest oil explorer in Australia after BHP, lost 0.5 percent to A$35.92.

Westfield, the world's biggest owner of shopping malls, dropped 2.5 percent to A$20.40. Stockland, Australia's biggest housing developer, lost 0.9 percent to A$8.42. GPT Group, Australia's fourth-largest real estate investment trust, fell 1.8 percent to A$4.83.

`Real Risk'

The leading index, a gauge of future economic growth, rose in January, Westpac Banking Corp. and the Melbourne Institute said today. Australia's central bank is ``more likely'' to raise its benchmark interest rate in April because stronger lending, wages and consumer spending will stoke inflation, UBS Australia Ltd. said in a note. That would add to the Reserve Bank of Australia's three interest-rate increases last year.

``Property stocks are fully priced and they're at real risk of being sold if the concerns about interest rates come to pass,'' said Tom Murphy, who manages about $1 billion in Asian assets at Deutsche Bank AG in Sydney.

LG Card, a unit of South Korea's second-largest lender, plunged by the daily limit of 15 percent to 52,900 won. It was the biggest drag on the South Korean benchmark. Macquarie Securities Ltd. lowered its recommendation on the shares to ``underperform'' from ``outperform'' after Shinhan Financial Group Ltd. completed a public offer for a stake in the card company.

``People couldn't sell all they offered to Shinhan, so now they're getting rid of what's left in the market,'' said Cho Min Keon, who manages about $370 million at Kyobo Investment Management Co. in Seoul.

Singapore Banks

In Singapore, DBS Group Holdings Ltd. led advances by banks on speculation a recent fall in interbank lending rates will not hurt earnings.

DBS, the largest lender in Singapore, gained 1 percent to S$21.20. United Overseas Bank Ltd., the second-largest, advanced 1 percent to S$20.60. Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp., the smallest of the three local lenders, added 0.6 percent to S$8.65.

A fall in the 3-month Singapore interbank lending rate, the price at which banks bid for and offer deposits to each other, to below 3 percent last week will not erode the funding cost advantage of local banks over foreign banks, as long as the rate stays above 2 percent, said Jaj Singh, Singapore-based analyst at UBS AG, in a report dated yesterday.

Profit

In Hong Kong, Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. and parent Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd. rose on expectations they will tomorrow report higher profits. Hutchison, billionaire Li Ka-shing's biggest company, climbed 1.6 percent to HK$74.40 and. Cheung Kong, the city's second-biggest developer by market value, added 1.1 percent to HK$93.45.

Hutchison may say profit surged last year on narrowing losses at its high-speed mobile phone venture in Europe. Net income probably rose 35 percent to HK$19.3 billion ($2.5 billion), according to the average estimate of 12 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.

Cheung Kong, which owns 50 percent of Hutchison Whampoa, may report a 23 percent profit gains on increased contributions from Hutchison Whampoa and higher apartment sales in Hong Kong. Net income probably rose to HK$17.2 billion, according to the average estimate of 12 analysts in a survey by Bloomberg News.

source:www.bloomberg.com