Asian stocks rose, with the regional benchmark index extending its biggest rally in seven weeks yesterday, as U.S. equity gauges held at record highs and investors weighed earnings.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.3 percent to 139.72 as of 10:56 a.m. in Tokyo with all but one of its 10 industry groups climbing. The measure jumped 1.1 percent yesterday, the biggest advance since March 24.
“The U.S. economy and corporate earnings are strong, which are reflected in that stocks haven’t fallen from record highs,” said Takahiro Nakano, a Tokyo-based senior strategist at Mizuho Trust & Banking Co., a unit of Japan’s third-largest bank by market value. In Asia, “earnings have been good, but companies are conservative about their outlook, making it hard for investors to raise hopes.”
Among companies on the Asian gauge that reported quarterly results from April 1 through yesterday and for which Bloomberg had estimates, 52 percent beat profit expectations, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Japan’s Topix (TPX) index added 0.1 percent as the yen traded at 102.20 per dollar after falling a third day yesterday. South Korea’s Kospi index rose 0.7 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.2 percent and New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index added 0.2 percent. Taiwan’s Taiex index advanced 0.1 percent, while Singapore’s Straits Times Index increased 0.9 percent as the market reopened following a holiday.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index advanced 0.3 percent. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of mainland companies traded in the city added 0.5 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index was little changed.
