Tokyo : Asian stocks rose for a fourth week after the US Federal Reserve pledged to keep borrowing costs near zero for an "extended period" and as the Bank of Japan expanded a bank-loan programme.
Sony, which makes Bravia televisions and the PlayStation 3 video-game system, gained 4.1 per cent. Sony Financial Holdings, a subsidiary, surged 12 per cent after saying it will boost bond holdings.
Kia Motors, South Korea's No 2 automaker, jumped 14 per cent in Seoul on speculation profit will beat estimates. BYD, a Chinese carmaker, advanced 11 per cent in Hong Kong after brokerages lifted earnings forecasts for the company.
"It's clear that the Fed is going to keep rates very accommodative to stimulate the growth recovery," said Chris Hall, who helps manage about $3.3 billion (Dh12.1 billion) at Argo Investments in Adelaide, Australia. "The million-dollar question is the consumer's ability to step up to the plate to support the economy."
Asian stocks have rallied in the past six weeks as concern over monetary tightening and Greece's debt receded, and as companies reported better-than-expected earnings.
Improving
Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 0.7 per cent last week, compared with increases of 1.1 per cent for Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index, 1.4 per cent for South Korea's Kospi index and 0.8 per cent for Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index.
The Shanghai Composite Index advanced 1.8 per cent.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 1.4 per cent to 124.92 last week. It rose after the Federal Reserve said it will leave its benchmark interest rate near zero to safeguard the economic recovery.
Separately, a US Labour Department report showed first-time applications for jobless benefits dropped in the week ended March 13, while the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's general economic index rose in March to the highest level this year.
Sony, which gets about a quarter of its revenue from the US, climbed 4.1 per cent to 3,520 yen.
Toyota Motor, the world's largest automaker, gained 3.6 per cent to 3,600 yen (Dh146). Mazda Motor, which gets 21 per cent of its sales in Europe, advanced 5.6 per cent to 247 yen after Standard & Poor's affirmed Greece's credit ratings.
"The US economy is improving day by day, and so is the global economy," said Hiroichi Nishi, an equities manager at Nikko Cordial Securities Inc in Tokyo. "People are beginning to expect better corporate earnings."
Stable investments
Sony Financial soared 12 per cent to 290,900 yen after the company said it will make ‘stable investments' in bonds, replacing stocks and risky assets.
Mitsui Mining & Smelting advanced 7 per cent to 274 yen after Japan's biggest producer of refined zinc boosted its full-year net income forecast by 44 per cent. The Bank of Japan doubled a lending programme on March 17, aimed at stoking credit growth after the government stepped up calls to arrest deflation that's hampering the economic recovery. It also held the overnight lending rate at 0.1 per cent.
"It's good that the bank is showing its willingness to cooperate with the government to curb deflation," said Hiroshi Morikawa, a senior strategist at MU Investments in Tokyo.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index has gained about 9.5 per cent from its lowest level in more than two months on February 8.
