Asian Stocks Rise, Extending U.S. Rally; Asahi Glass, James Hardie ...
By Jonathan Burgos Nov. 6 (Bloomberg) — Asian stocks rose, extending a surge in the U.S., after unemployment claims and worker productivity beat estimates and companies from Asahi Glass Co. to Toyota Motor Corp. boosted forecasts for this year. Asahi Glass, Asia’s largest glassmaker, climbed 5.5 percent in Tokyo, and Toyota, the world’s biggest carmaker, added as much as 1.7 percent after they narrowed their forecast annual losses. James Hardie Industries NV , the top seller of home siding in the U.S., advanced 2.1 percent in Sydney. Pioneer Corp. surged 8 percent after the maker of car-navigation systems said it needs less funds than previously expected as earnings improve. “Investors are likely to buy into exporter shares with the improvements in the U.S. economic data,” said Juichi Wako , a senior strategist at Tokyo-based Nomura Holdings Inc. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.50 percent to 115.26 as of 9:50 a.m. in Tokyo, trimming its loss this week to 1 percent. The gauge has slumped 4.8 percent from a 13-month high on Oct. 20 amid concerns the withdrawal of stimulus measures will cause the global recovery to falter. The index is still up 64 percent from a five-year low on March 9. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average advanced 1 percent to 9,814.95. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed 1.5 percent in Sydney. New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index added 0.5 percent in Wellington. To contact the reporter for this story: Jonathan Burgos in Singapore at jburgos4@bloomberg.net .
