KDDI and Ping An Leads on the Rise of Asian Stock

Asian stocks rose, driving a regional benchmark to a record, after KDDI Corp. and Samsung Heavy Industries Co. reported increased earnings.

KDDI, Japan's second-biggest mobile-phone carrier, jumped the most in eight weeks after it said earnings improved, while Samsung Heavy rebounded from a three-week low as the shipbuilder reported its highest quarterly net income. Ping An Insurance Co. jumped to a record after the insurer, China's second biggest, said first-half profit may have doubled from a year earlier.

``The market is supported by investor confidence over companies that are likely to report good earnings,'' said Terunobu Kinoshita, who helps manage $785 million at Fund Creation Co. in Tokyo. ``Quarterly results will be the focal point for investors.''

BHP Billiton Ltd. climbed after the company said annual production for eight of its main commodities rose to a record, setting the world's largest miner up for its largest yearly profit. Oil producers fell, paced by Woodside Petroleum Ltd., after crude prices slid for a third day.

The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia Pacific Index added 0.6 percent to 161.06 as of 11:50 a.m. in Tokyo, having yesterday slid 0.4 percent from a high of 160.72. Energy shares were the only decliners among the measure's 10 industry groups.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average slid 0.1 percent to 17,947.61, after earlier rising as much as 0.3 percent. Samsung Electronics Co. led a 0.4 percent retreat in South Korea's Kospi index, which today touched 2,000 for the first time, after the won rose to its highest this year against the dollar. Other markets open for trading advanced, except for the Philippines and Indonesia.

Higher Profits

U.S. stocks gained yesterday, helped by $35 billion in acquisitions and better-than-forecast earnings from Merck & Co., the third-largest U.S. drugmaker. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index climbed 0.5 percent, its steepest gain in a week.

KDDI rose 4.3 percent to 866,000 yen, the most since May 31. Profit climbed 9 percent from a year earlier to 82.5 billion yen ($684 million) in the three months ended June 30, as payments for handset subsidies declined, the company said yesterday after the close of trading.

Samsung Heavy, the world's second-largest shipyard, said today profit last quarter more than quadrupled to a record 130.2 billion won ($142 million) as it built more oil and gas tankers at higher prices. That topped the median estimate of 97.8 billion won in a Bloomberg survey of analysts. Samsung Heavy shares gained 2 percent to 51,900 won.

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., the third largest, advanced 2.7 percent to 61,500 won. It received a record $4 billion in orders this month, the company said.

Ping An, Sony

Shares of Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. jumped 5.9 percent to a record HK$66.95 in Hong Kong, the biggest gain since June 22. First-half profit at China's second-biggest insurer may more than double from last year's 3.95 billion yuan ($522 million) on increased returns from investments, and growth in its insurance business, the company said late yesterday.

Sony Corp., Nissan Motor Co. and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. are among the region's largest companies that are scheduled to release their results this week.

Sony, the world's second-largest maker of consumer electronics, added 1 percent to 6,240 yen. The company is expected to report its first profit increase in four quarters on July 26, according to a Bloomberg analysts' survey. Shares of Nissan, which is forecast to today report a drop in profit, rose 0.7 percent to 1,313 yen.

Taiwan Semiconductor, the world's largest maker of customized chips, climbed 2.2 percent to NT$70.20. The company is considering buying back $1.5 billion of its shares, the Economic Daily News reported today, citing unidentified overseas investors. Its earnings are scheduled for July 26.

Rising Production

In Australia, shares of BHP gained 0.9 percent to A$38.62. For the financial year ended June 30, BHP's production of natural gas, alumina, aluminum, copper, nickel, iron ore, manganese and coking coal all reached records, driven by ``strong demand,'' the company said.

BHP will likely post a record profit of $14.3 billion for the year ended June 30, up from $10.45 billion a year ago, according to the average analyst estimate compiled by Bloomberg.

Newcrest Mining Ltd., Australia's largest gold mining company, surged 7.3 percent to A$26.26, the biggest percentage gain on the MSCI World Index, after it said fourth-quarter output of the metal rose 15 percent to a record.

``Resource stocks are continuing to pump out product as fast as they can,'' said Eric Betts, head of research at Nomura Australia Ltd. in Sydney.

Taking Cues

Meanwhile, Woodside Petroleum Ltd., Australia's No. 2 oil producer after BHP, slid 1.4 percent to A$45.33. Inpex Holdings Inc., Japan's largest explorer, declined 2.3 percent to 1.26 million yen. PetroChina Co., China's largest, fell 0.7 percent to HK$12.24.

Crude oil for September delivery fell as much as 0.3 percent a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was recently at $74.75. Futures declined 1.4 percent in the previous two days on signs U.S. refiners are increasing output and speculation the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries may pump more oil to meet year- end demand.

``Investors took yesterday's decline in metals and oil prices as a cue to reduce their holdings in commodity-related shares, said Jun Nishizaki, who oversees about $250 million in Japanese equities at Nissay Asset Management Corp. in Tokyo.

Samsung Electronics, South Korea's biggest exporter, slid 1.1 percent to 651,000 won. LG Electronics Inc., the second largest, lost 2.1 percent to 79,-00 won.

The won gained as much as 0.1 percent to 914.40 to the dollar and traded at 914.70 as of 9:30 a.m. local time, according to Seoul Money Brokerage Services Ltd.

source:bloomberg.com