Singapore: Asian stocks rose, extending the MSCI Asia Pacific Index's biggest annual gain since 2003, after Chinese manufacturing grew and a stronger dollar boosted the outlook for Japanese car and electronics makers.
Nippon Yusen K.K., Japan's biggest shipping line, added 1.8 per cent on optimism trade with China will rise. Sony Corp and Honda Motor Co, which get at least 20 per cent of revenue from North America, gained as the dollar traded at near a four-month high versus the yen.
Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp surged 6.9 per cent in Taipei after the Commercial Times said flat-panel display prices may rise.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.7 per cent to 121.24 on Monday in Tokyo. The gauge jumped 34 per cent last year as stimulus packages and lower interest rates helped drag the global economy out of the worst slowdown since the Second World War.
"Asia is expected to remain the engine of growth for the world's economy," said Hiroshi Morikawa, a senior strategist at MU Investments Co, which manages the equivalent of $13 billion (Dh47.7 billion) in Tokyo.
"The first trading day of a year is often seen as a predictor of the year's market climate. People are hoping this year will be better than last year and become more responsive to good news," Morikawa said.
Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 1.2 per cent in the first trading day since December 30.
Japan Airlines Corp soared 36 per cent after the government said a state-run bank will double the amount of credit it will provide for the carrier.
The Kospi Index added 0.3 per cent in Seoul after the nation's exports increased more than economists had estimated.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index advanced 0.2 per cent even as a manufacturing index shrank in December for the first time in five months.
Futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 0.4 per cent. The gauge fell 1 per cent on December 31 as falling jobless claims raised speculation the economy was improving enough to allow the central bank to reduce stimulus measures.
Government figures showed initial jobless claims in the week ended December 26 fell to the lowest level since July 2008.
Last year's jump boosted the price-book value ratio of the MSCI Asia Pacific Index to 1.61 times, the highest level since September 2008, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
China's Purchasing Managers Index climbed to a seasonally adjusted 56.6, the Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said on January 1.
It was the fastest expansion in 20 months. South Korean exports increased 33.7 per cent in December from a year earlier, the fastest pace in 17 months, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said on Friday.
That exceeded the 27.9 per cent gain projected by economists. Nippon Yusen jumped 1.8 per cent to 290 yen, the first advance in three sessions.
