Asian stocks rose this week, led by exporters such as Tokyo Electron Ltd and Samsung Electronics Co, after US economic reports suggested growth in the world's largest economy is picking up. Japan's Topix stock index had its longest winning streak in nine years.
"It's a chain reaction and countries such as Japan, Korea and Taiwan will benefit the most" because they rely on US demand, said Angelo Corbetta, who helps manage the equivalent of US$109 billion globally as head of Far East investments at Pioneer Investment Management Ltd in Singapore.
"The US is doing everything it can to spur its economy and it's working," Corbetta said.
He owns shares of Canon Inc and Tokyo Electron.
The Topix rose 3.8 percent for the week to 869.61. It had an eight-day, 6.7 percent gain, the biggest since the period ended March 1, 1994. The Nikkei gained 4.3 percent to 8785.87, the highest since Jan. 23.
Elsewhere, South Korea's Kospi index ended a holiday-shortened week 1.4 percent higher. Taiwan's TWSE Index rose for a fifth week, up 4.1 percent. It was the second straight week it rallied more than 4 percent.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Composite Index was the best performer in the region, surging 8.4 percent, its biggest weekly advance in almost 2 1/2 years.
Banks and developers paced gains after economic growth in the first quarter compared with a year ago exceeded some analysts' forecasts.
Airlines, such as Singapore Airlines Ltd and Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd, advanced this week after the World Health Organization said SARS has passed its peak and the agency may soon end some advisories against travel to China.
Tokyo Electron jumped 12 percent to 5,520 this week, its biggest advance since the five days to Nov. 22. The world's second-largest maker of chip-production equipment gets more than half of its revenue from overseas sales.
Toyota Motor Corp had a third weekly advance, rising 5.6 percent to ?3,020. The world's third-largest automaker gets about 80 percent of its operating profit from North America.
"Bullishness over the US stock market and economy is compelling investors to buy back Japanese equities," said Norihito Kanai, who helps manage the equivalent of US$2.5 billion at Meiji Dresdner Asset Management Co. Kanai owns shares of carmakers such as Toyota and Honda Motor Co.
In South Korea, the index that tracks computer-related shares, many of which export their goods to the US, accounted for more than half of the Kospi's advance.
Samsung Electronics, the world's biggest memory chipmaker that gets about a fifth of its total sales in the US, gained for a third week, adding 2.9 percent to 333,500 won. Hyundai Motor Co, the nation's biggest automaker that gets about a fifth of its total sales in the US, jumped 10 percent to 31,700 won.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manu-facturing Co, which counts on exports to the US for about three-quarters of its revenue, paced gains in the TWSE. It added 9.4 percent to NT$58.50 this week.
United Microelectronics Corp, which makes chips for Advanced Micro Devices Inc, Texas Instruments Inc and Motorola Inc, gained 9.2 percent to NT$23.80.
"Expectations that the US economy may accelerate in the second half are bringing investors back to exporters, since the US is their biggest market," said Park Yoon Sik, who helps manage the equivalent of US$333 million at Tong Yang Investment Trust Management Co in Seoul.
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