Asian Stocks Advance on U.S. Jobs, Japanese Machinery Orders

Aug. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks rose, led by automakers and consumer companies, after the U.S. jobless rate dropped and Japanese machinery orders increased, boosting confidence that the world’s two largest economies are emerging from recessions.

Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp., which gets 31 percent of its revenue from North America, gained 2 percent as the dollar strengthened against the yen after the U.S. jobs report. Bridgestone Corp., the world’s largest tiremaker, rose 6.5 percent in Tokyo after forecasting a profit. Hallenstein Glasson Holdings Ltd., a New Zealand clothing retailer, jumped 3.9 percent in Wellington after the country’s house prices rose.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 1.4 percent to 112.28 as of 11:35 a.m. in Tokyo, following a 1 percent drop last week. The gauge has climbed 59 percent from a more than five-year low on March 9 amid speculation the global economy is recovering from the credit crisis.

“There’s a sense that the region is growing more quickly than other parts of the world,” said Mark Konyn, chief executive officer of RCM Asia Pacific Ltd. in Hong Kong, which holds $11 billion. “Valuations are not stretched, but the market’s moved a hell of a long way since the bottom. The question is whether or not we’ll see that follow through in economic improvement and I think you see it in the jobs numbers in the U.S.”

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 1.3 percent to 10,545.90 as strategists at Nomura Holdings Inc. predicted the gauge may climb as high as 11,500 by the end of October. Mitsubishi Rayon Co., which makes fabrics and chemicals, surged 25 percent after the Nikkei newspaper reported the company may be bought by rival Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corp.

Beating Estimates

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 2.6 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index advanced 1 percent, led by real- estate trust Goodman Group, which surged 14 percent after a share sale eased concerns about the company’s debt levels.

Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 0.1 percent. The gauge climbed 1.3 percent on Aug. 7 after a Labor Department report showed the joblessness rate dropped to 9.4 percent last month from June, the first decline since April 2008. Economists had estimated the rate would rise to 9.6 percent.

Japanese machinery orders, an indicator of capital investment in the next three to six months, climbed 9.7 percent from May, the Cabinet Office said today in Tokyo. The median estimate of 22 economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for a 2.6 percent increase.

Toyota gained 2 percent to 4,170 yen. Sony Corp., which gets about a quarter of its sales from the U.S., climbed 3.3 percent to 2,785 yen. Komatsu Ltd., the world’s second-biggest maker of construction equipment, rose 3 percent to 1,634 yen.

Higher Forecast

Bridgestone jumped 5.7 percent to 1,787 yen after forecasting full-year net income of 6 billion yen ($62 million), compared with an earlier break-even prediction.

A weaker yen also boosted the outlook for Japanese export earnings. The Japanese currency depreciated to as much as 97.78 from about 95.43 at the 3 p.m. close of Tokyo stock trading on Aug. 7.

“The improvement in the U.S. job market will increase demand for risk assets globally, including stocks,” said Tomochika Kitaoka, a senior strategist at Mizuho Securities Co. in Tokyo. “Exporters will get an extra boost in that the yen is sufficiently weak to help raise their profits.”

Companies’ efforts to cut costs boosted investor confidence in the outlook for earnings, Nomura strategists wrote in a Japanese-language report. The analysts said the Nikkei 225 may rise as high as 11,500 by the end of October, lifting a previous estimate that ranged between 10,500 and 11,000.

Takeover Speculation

Hallenstein Glasson gained 3.9 percent to NZ$2.90. New Zealand house prices rose for the third month in July, advancing 0.7 percent from the previous month, according to Quotable Value New Zealand Ltd., the government valuation agency.

Mitsubishi Rayon surged 25 percent to 340 yen after the Nikkei reported Mitsubishi Chemical may pay as much as 200 billion yen to buy the company. Mitsubishi Rayon said it had no statement to make.

Mitsubishi Chemical wasn’t the source of the information, spokesman Yoshinori Nagayama said. The company’s shares added 5.4 percent to 446 yen.

Goodman surged 14 percent to 50.5 Australian cents. Institutional investors bought A$923 million ($773 million) shares for 40 cents each, the Sydney-based company said in a statement today, while retail investors are expected to buy A$355 million in shares.

“Some traders were wanting this capital raising to take place,” said Chris Weston, an institutional dealer at IG Markets in Melbourne. “It’s being taken positively because it will result in a stronger balance sheet, better liquidity and an impressive gearing.”