The MSCI Asia Pacific Index jumped 1 percent to 138.85 as of 5 p.m. in Tokyo and The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 0.5 percent. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 0.4 percent. Crude climbed 0.3 percent in New York after retreating the most in two weeks yesterday. Cotton jumped 3.7 percent. The yen slid against all 16 major peers while Taiwan’s dollar strengthened 0.3 percent against the U.S. currency. Benchmark 10-year Japanese bond yields rose to a one-week high.
Data today showed Chinese and Indian manufacturing expanded while Japanese payrolls gained, following a Commerce Department report yesterday that showed U.S. incomes climbed more than economists predicted. Clarkson Plc said most ships picking up Libyan cargoes have done so successfully in the past week and Saudi Arabia offered to make up for lost supplies, even as tensions escalated in Oman and Iran.
“Economies worldwide like in Asia and the U.S. appear to be recovering firmly,” said Marito Ueda, senior managing director in Tokyo at FX Prime Corp., a foreign-exchange margin company. “Risk-taking appetite may prevail.”
About four shares advanced for each that declined on MSCI’s Asian index, which is bound for a three-day, 2.6 percent rally. Shinsei Bank Ltd., the Japanese lender partly owned by J. Christopher Flowers, jumped 7.7 percent after Credit Suisse Group AG raised its rating on improved capital adequacy following the bank’s share-sale plan.
Earnings
Catcher Technology Co. rallied 6.9 percent following a 14 percent gain in the computer-casing maker’s 2010 net income. Noble Group Ltd. surged 6.3 percent in Singapore trading after the supplier of energy, food and mining commodities said fourth- quarter profit almost tripled. HSBC Holdings Plc dropped 5.1 percent in Hong Kong trading after the lender yesterday reported full-year earnings that missed analyst estimates.
India’s Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index rallied as much as 2.9 percent, extending gains from yesterday, after the government pledged to trim its budget shortfall, boost spending on projects needed to sustain growth and give the poorest cash to buy fuel to shield them from inflation. Bangladesh’s Dhaka Stock Exchange General Index surged 7.6 percent, rebounding from its lowest level in 13 months.
Cotton for May delivery rose by the daily limit of 7 cents to $1.9823 a pound in New York. Rubber climbed 2.3 percent to 477.1 yen a kilogram in Tokyo.
Oman, Iran
Oil advanced to $97.30 a barrel in New York, retracing part of yesterday’s 0.9 percent slide. Futures have retreated since reached $103.41 a barrel last week. Brent crude added 0.4 percent to $112.20 a barrel in London, where futures fell yesterday for the first time in six days.
Saudi Arabian Oil Co. Chief Executive Officer Khalid Al- Falih said yesterday the kingdom is ready to cover a shortfall from unrest in Libya. The International Energy Agency said last week it will release emergency stockpiles, if needed.
Brent futures rose to as much as $119.79 a barrel last week as fighting escalated in Libya and tensions that have already ousted leaders in Tunisia and Egypt spread to Oman. Authorities in Iran, OPEC’s second-largest producer, arrested opposition leaders to derail protests scheduled today. In Libya, the opposition gained fresh support yesterday from the U.S. and European nations, who promised humanitarian aid and began planning for a no-fly zone.
‘Tax on Growth’
“The fact that oil prices may be correcting back to levels that are more reflective of the fundamentals is better for everybody,” said Prasad Patkar, who helps manage about $1.8 billion at Platypus Asset Management Ltd. in Sydney. “If oil spikes because of supply disruptions and stays elevated, then it becomes just another tax on growth.”
The Egyptian stock exchange’s opening was postponed to March 6 from today, Egypt’s state-run satellite television said, citing the head of the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority Ashraf el-Sharqawy. The Bloomberg GCC 200 Index has declined 10 percent since the Egyptian bourse stopped trading on Jan. 27.
U.S. stocks rose yesterday, with the S&P 500 Index extending a third straight monthly gain. Personal incomes climbed 1 percent, more than the 0.4 percent median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of economists, reflecting the tax-cut compromise reached by President Barack Obama and Congressional Republicans in December. A report today is forecast to show manufacturing expanded at the fastest rate in almost seven years.
Manufacturing, Payrolls
China’s Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 52.2 in February from 52.9 in January, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said on its website today. The reading compares with the median forecast of 52.1 in a Bloomberg News survey of 14 economists. India’s purchasing managers’ index rose to 57.9 from 56.8, HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economic said.
Japan’s unemployment rate held steady at 4.9 percent in January while the number of people with work increased by 170,000, the statistics bureau said today.
The yen declined to 113.38 per euro from 112.91 in New York yesterday. It fell to 82.16 per dollar from 81.78. The Taiwan dollar climbed to NT$29.660 against the U.S. currency after earlier reaching NT$29.572. The Bloomberg-JPMorgan Asia Dollar Index, which tracks the region’s 10 most-active currencies excluding the yen, advanced to 116.38 from 116.23, on course for its highest level in more than a week.
The yuan strengthened for a third day after the Financial News reported Liu Mingkang, chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, as saying the currency had entered a period of “only appreciation.” The yuan traded at 6.5697 per dollar, heading toward a 17-year high.
Australia’s Rates
Australia’s dollar weakened after the central bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged and said annual inflation is likely to be consistent with policy makers’ target of between 2 percent and 3 percent. The so-called Aussie declined to $1.0165 from $1.0185 before the announcement.
Japan’s benchmark 10-year government bond yield gained 1.5 basis points to 1.270 percent, the highest level since Feb. 22. The rate climbed amid speculation investors will try to increase the coupon at a 2.2 trillion yen ($26.9 billion) auction of the securities today.
Treasuries fell, sending the 10-year yield higher by two basis points to 3.45 percent. China, America’s largest creditor, increased its holdings of U.S. debt to $1.6 trillion in December, revised figures issued by the Treasury Department yesterday show.
The cost of protecting Asian bonds from non-payment fell, with the Markit iTraxx Asia index of 50 investment-grade borrowers outside Japan dropping two basis points to 108.5 basis points, Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc prices show. That would be its lowest close since Feb. 21, according to CMA.
--With assistance from Ben Sharples in Melbourne, Rocky Swift, Monami Yui and Yoshiaki Nohara in Tokyo, Candice Zachariahs and Shani Raja in Sydney and Wes Goodman, Ron Harui and David Yong in Singapore. Editors: Nicolas Johnson
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