Tokyo: Asian stocks advanced, driving the regional benchmark index to its sixth-consecutive weekly gain, as earnings reports from Toshiba Corp and JPMorgan Chase & Co lifted confidence the global recession is easing.
Toshiba, Japan's largest semiconductor maker, jumped 4.4 per cent after posting a smaller-than-forecast operating loss. Hynix Semiconductor surged 8.7 per cent in Seoul as memory-chip prices rose.
ICICI Bank, India's second-largest lender, climbed 5.3 per cent amid optimism industry profits are recovering. Nippon Steel, the world's No. 2 maker of the alloy, surged 11 per cent in Tokyo on speculation price cuts offered to automakers were less than anticipated.
"Some people are thinking that central bankers have saved the day and that economies are going to recover," said Alistair Thompson, who helps manage about $17 billion (Dh62.39 billion) in equities at First State Investments in Singapore.
"We're still cautious, though. The excesses of the past two decades are going to take an awfully long time to correct."
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 0.7 per cent to 89.58 in Tokyo, erasing its losses for the year. The gauge rose 1.8 per cent last week.
Exceptions
Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 1.7 per cent to 8,907.58. Markets in Asia advanced except in South Korea, China, Taiwan and Vietnam. China's Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.2 per cent after the official Xinhua News Agency reported Premier Wen Jiabao as saying that the foundation for an economic recovery is not solid.
