Asia Stocks Climb on Australian Jobs Growth, Japan GDP; Westpac, BHP Gain

Asian stocks gained, driving the benchmark index to its sixth advance in seven days, as reports on better-than-estimated economic growth in Japan and employment in Australia bolstered confidence in a regional recovery.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Japan’s biggest publicly traded bank, climbed 3.7 percent. Westpac Banking Group Ltd., Australia’s second-largest bank by market value, rose 2.4 percent. BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s largest mining company, gained 1.3 percent in Sydney after copper futures surged to a record yesterday in New York. Chimei Innolux Corp. led declines by Taiwanese flat-panel makers following European Union fines.

“Asia’s growth momentum remains intact,” said Pauline Dan, Hong Kong-based chief investment officer at Samsung Investment Trust, which oversees about $72 billion in assets. “There are still a lot of uncertainties out there. Monetary tightening in China will remain a key risk into next year, along with geopolitical risks and issues concerning European debt.”

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 1 percent to 133.63 as of 5:10 p.m. in Tokyo, with five stocks advancing for every four that declined. The gauge slid 0.6 percent in November after two straight monthly gains as concern grew that China’s anti- inflation measures, Europe’s debt crisis and tensions on the Korean peninsula may cool a global economic recovery.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average advanced 0.5 percent. Gross domestic product grew at an annualized 4.5 percent rate in the three months ended Sept. 30, faster than the 3.9 percent reported last month, the Cabinet Office said today. The median forecast of 19 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for a 4.1 percent expansion.

Australian Jobs

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed 0.9 percent. The number of people employed gained 54,600 from October, the statistics bureau said today. That compares with the median forecast for a 20,000 increase in a Bloomberg News survey of 26 economists. The jobless rate fell to 5.2 percent from 5.4 percent a month earlier.

South Korea’s Kospi Index gained 1.7 percent, the biggest increase among benchmark equity indexes in the Asia-Pacific region, and China’s Shanghai Composite Index slipped 1.3 percent, the biggest decrease. Taiwan’s Taiex Index advanced 0.6 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index increased 0.3 percent.

Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed 0.5 percent today. The index rose 0.4 percent yesterday to a two- year high, buoyed by a possible extension of U.S. tax cuts and after American International Group Inc. said it will repay a credit line to the Federal Reserve.

Financials Advance

Financial companies had the second-biggest advance among the MSCI Asia Pacific Index’s 10 industry groups, following information-technology shares. Mitsubishi UFJ increased 3.7 percent to 417 yen. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., Japan’s No. 2 bank, rose 3.5 percent to 2,712 yen. Mizuho Financial Group Inc., the No. 3, climbed 2.9 percent to 141 yen.

“Investors already knew that higher capital spending in the July-September period would boost Japan’s GDP, but they took it as a good direction once the result was disclosed,” said Masaru Hamasaki, who helps oversee about $17 billion as chief strategist at Toyota Asset Management Co. in Tokyo.

In Sydney, Westpac Banking gained 2.4 percent to A$22.29. National Australia Bank Ltd., the nation’s biggest lender to companies, rose 1.6 percent to A$24. Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., Australia’s third-largest bank by market value, advanced 1.6 percent to A$23.65.

Valuations, Commodities

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 9.9 percent this year through yesterday, compared with gains of 10 percent by the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index and 8.3 percent by the Stoxx Europe 600 Index. Shares in the Asian benchmark are valued at 14.6 times estimated earnings on average, compared with 14.4 times for the S&P 500 and 12.2 times for the Stoxx 600.

BHP Billiton, also Australia’s largest oil producer, climbed 1.3 percent to A$45.44 in Sydney. OZ Minerals Ltd., an Australian copper and gold miner, gained 0.9 percent to A$1.67. Cnooc Ltd., China’s No. 1 offshore oil producer, increased 1.2 percent to HK$18.14 in Hong Kong. Inpex Corp., Japan’s largest oil explorer, advanced 2.5 percent to 454,000 yen.

The London Metal Exchange Index of six metals including copper and aluminum jumped 1.5 percent yesterday to the highest since Nov. 11. Copper futures climbed to a record close in New York, while oil rose today for the first time in three days.

Chimei Innolux slumped 5.3 percent to NT$38.30, the second- biggest decline among the more than 1,000 companies in the MSCI Asia Pacific Index. AU Optronics Corp. retreated 2.4 percent to NT$30.05.

Samsung, TSMC Gain

The European Union’s Competition Commission said yesterday that it fined them, Hannstar Display Corp., Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd. and South Korea’s LG Display Co. a total of 648.9 million euros （$864 million）.

Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s biggest maker of liquid-crystal-display screens by sales, increased 3.2 percent to 917,000 won in Seoul and was the largest single contributor to the MSCI Asia Pacific Index. The company wasn’t fined because it informed on the cartel and provided “valuable information,” EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said yesterday.

In Taipei, Quanta Computer Inc., the world’s fourth-biggest maker of notebook computers by shipments, increased 4.1 percent to NT$63.4 after saying November sales rose 12 percent from a month earlier.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which is the world’s biggest contract maker of chips and reports November sales tomorrow, climbed 2.9 percent to NT$70 in Taipei, its highest level since July 2007.