Asian Stocks Climb With Aussie, Copper on China as Yen Advances
Bloomberg News
Asian stocks rose, with the regional benchmark index extending its first weekly advance this year, and Australia's dollar climbed with copper after record lending boosted prospects for growth in China. Gold and silver gained, while the yen and Indonesia's rupiah strengthened.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.7 percent by 11:22 a.m. in Tokyo, extending last week's 1.6 percent gain. The Aussie gained against all 16 major peers except South Korea's won, which climbed 0.3 percent versus the greenback. Indonesia's rupiah added 1.2 percent to 11,682 per dollar. Copper advanced 0.3 percent, while gold and silver increased at least 0.6 percent. Standard & Poor's 500 Index (SPX) futures were little changed, with U.S. markets shut for President's Day today.
Record new credit China in January may help Asia's largest economy maintain momentum as the government struggles with swelling local-government debt and volatility in money markets. Hedge funds have raised bullish gold bets to a three-month high as disappointing U.S. economic data boosted haven demand, while John Paulson maintained bullion holdings. A report today showed economic growth in Japan unexpectedly slowed last quarter, after data last week showed U.S. factory production missed estimates.
'Strong credit growth confirms the economy is at the gradual recovery stage,' said Wu Kan, a Shanghai-based money manager at Dragon Life Insurance Co., which oversees about $3.3 billion. 'Ample liquidity is good for equities and may lift valuations.'
China Lending
About three stocks rose for each that fell on MSCI's Asia-Pacific gauge. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 1.1 percent, and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (HSCEI) of mainland equities jumped 1.8 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.2 percent.
Aggregate financing, the broadest measure of credit, was 2.58 trillion yuan ($425 billion), the People's Bank of China said in a Feb. 15 statement. New local-currency lending was 1.32 trillion yuan, the highest level since 2010. Trust loans, under scrutiny because of default risks, were about half the level of a year earlier.
China's seven-day repurchase rate, a gauge of funding availability in the banking system, dropped 49 basis points to 3.8665 percent, the lowest since Nov. 13.
Japan's Topix rose 0.5 percent, reversing a 1 percent decline. The yen, regarded by some investors as a safe haven, added 0.2 percent in a fourth day of gains, rising as high as 101.39 a dollar.
Growth in Japanese gross domestic product slackened to 1 percent last quarter on an annualized basis, from 1.1 percent in the previous period and below the 2.8 percent estimated by economists in a Bloomberg survey. The country also reports December industrial production today and the Bank of Japan starts a two-day monetary policy meeting.
To contact the reporters on this story: Glenys Sim in Singapore at gsim4@bloomberg.net; Emma O'Brien in Wellington at eobrien6@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Emma O'Brien at eobrien6@bloomberg.net
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