Asian Stocks Rise on U.S. Data; Dividends Drag on Japan

Asian Stocks Rise on U.S. Data; Dividends Drag on Japan
By Yoshiaki Nohara - Mar 27, 2013 11:32 AM GMT+0800

Asian shares rose after U.S. home prices climbed the most since 2006 and orders for durable goods beat estimates. Gains by Japanese shares were limited as about 80 percent of the companies in the Topix Index traded without rights to a dividend today.
Techtronic Industries Co. (669), a maker of power tools that gets most of its sales in North America, gained 4 percent in Hong Kong. Bank of China Ltd., the nation’s fourth-largest lender, gained 1.7 percent in Hong Kong after posting better-than- estimated profit growth. Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd., Japan’s second-biggest tire maker, jumped 7.3 percent after its equity rating was raised to outperform at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.1 percent to 135.78 as of 12:28 p.m. in Tokyo, with about two shares rising for each that fell. The MSCI Asia Pacific ex-Japan Index advanced 0.5 percent to 473.35, while the Topix was little changed at 1,044.31.
“Stocks would’ve risen a lot without shares going ex- dividend,” said Koji Toda, chief fund manager at Resona Bank Ltd. in Tokyo, which oversees about 15 trillion yen ($158 billion). “The U.S. is experiencing the best scenario in that its economy is going strong while risk remains for the rest of the world, namely Europe.”
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 4.8 percent this year through yesterday on improving economic data from the U.S. and speculation that Japan will deploy more stimulus. The Asia benchmark traded at 15 times estimated earnings on average, compared with 14.2 times for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index and 12.6 times for the Stoxx Europe 600 Index.

Durables Orders
Orders for U.S. durable goods climbed more than forecast in February, propelled by automobiles and a rebound in commercial aircraft, a Commerce Department report showed.
“Average U.S. investors feel more secure about their jobs, seeing their house prices go up, and think the crisis is well behind them,” said Andrew Pease, Sydney-based chief investment strategist at Russell Investment Group, which manages about $160 billion. “We like emerging markets and Asia simply because, even though there’s concern about Chinese policy tightening, earnings numbers still look good.”
Companies that do business in the U.S. advanced, with Techtronic rising 4 percent to HK$19.44. James Hardie Industries SE (JHX), a building-materials supplier that gets 67 percent of sales from the U.S., climbed 0.7 percent to A$9.77 in Sydney.
Bank of China advanced 1.7 percent to HK$3.61 after net income rose to 139.4 billion yuan ($22 billion) from a restated 124.3 billion yuan a year earlier, beating the 132.6 billion- yuan average estimate of 31 analysts compiled by Bloomberg. Agricultural Bank of China Ltd., the nation’s third-largest lender, gained 0.8 percent to HK$3.81 after reporting a 19 percent increase in profit to 145.1 billion yuan.
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