Asian Stocks Advance on Faster U.S. Jobs Growth, Weaker Yen

Asian stocks rose, driving the regional benchmark index to a three-week high, after a report showing U.S. jobs grew faster than forecast and a weakening yen boosted optimism in an economic recovery.

Canon Inc. (7751), which receives 28 percent of its revenue from the Americas, gained 1.2 percent in Tokyo. Fast Retailing Co., Asia’s biggest apparel chain, jumped 5.7 percent after Credit Suisse Group AG and UBS AG recommended investors “buy” the Japanese stock. Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (WPL), Australia’s second- largest oil and gas producer, increased 0.8 percent after oil prices climbed to a 30-month high.

“The U.S. jobs data had recovered more than expected, so investors’ risk tolerance will increase,” said Toshiyuki Kanayama, a market analyst at Tokyo-based Monex Inc. “The yen is reacting to the jobs data, and this should be a plus for exporters.”

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 0.5 percent to 136 as of 9:45 a.m. in Tokyo, heading for its highest close since March 10, with two stocks rising for each that fell. The index has increased for two straight weeks as Japanese companies began resuming production after the nation’s worst earthquake on record on March 11 and as Chinese firms posted profits that beat analyst estimates.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 (NKY) Stock Average climbed 0.8 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.6 percent and New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index gained 0.1 percent. South Korea’s Kospi Index fell 0.1 percent.

Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index were little changed today. The index rose 0.5 percent on April 1, adding to gains from the market’s biggest first-quarter rally since 1998, as faster-than-forecast jobs growth bolstered optimism and Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. started a bidding war for NYSE Euronext.

U.S. Employment

A U.S. government jobs report showed the U.S. unemployment rate dropped to a two-year low of 8.8 percent in March from 8.9 percent in February. Payrolls grew by 216,000 workers after a 194,000 gain the prior month, the Labor Department said. Economists projected a March gain of 190,000, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey.

The yen depreciated to as low as 84.38 against the dollar today, compared with 83.55 at the close of stock trading in Tokyo on April 1. A drop in the yen increases the value of overseas income at Japanese companies when converted into their home currency.

Crude oil for May delivery advanced as much as 0.6 percent to $108.60 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 1.7 percent this year through April 1, compared with gains of 6 percent by the S&P 500 and 1.5 percent by the Stoxx Europe 600 Index. Stocks in the Asian benchmark are valued at 13.1 times estimated earnings on average, compared with 13.7 times for the S&P 500 and 11.2 times for the Stoxx 600.

source:bloomberg.com