Federal Reserve policy makers on Tuesday voted to keep the benchmark US interest rate at a 45-year low.
"Spending is firming, and the labor market appears to be stabilizing," the Federal Open Market Committee said.
The Hang Seng Index added 3.9 percent, completing its seventh monthly gain. That's the longest streak since a nine-month run ended June 1992. CNOOC Ltd, China's biggest offshore oil producer, rallied 7.3 percent, after the company agreed to buy a stake in ChevronTexaco Corp's US$7.7 billion Gorgon natural gas project in Australia, which will supply to China.
Computer-related stocks gained as Goldman Sachs raised its worldwide personal computer unit growth forecast to 10.5 percent for this year from the previous 7.6 percent.
Taiwan
TSMC, the world's largest supplier of made-to-order chips, advanced 3.9 percent to NT$67. It said this week that third-quarter profit rose almost five times after more orders allowed it to run its plants at near full capacity.
The company plans to increase spending next year on new plants and equipment to meet rising demand, chairman Morris Chang said. The TAIEX rose 2.2 percent to 6045.12. For last month, it gained 7.7 percent.
Advantest, the world's biggest maker of equipment used to test computer memory chips, surged 12 percent to ¥8,190. The company raised its full-year sales and profit forecasts because customers will buy more test devices to meet rising demand for chips used in digital cameras and mobile phones.
Advantest was among Japanese companies that reported improved earnings this week. Fujitsu Ltd, Japan's biggest maker of business computers, posted a narrower second-quarter loss and Hitachi Ltd, Japan's largest electronics maker, doubled its annual profit forecast.
"The technology industry is showing hard evidence of a recovery," said Kenichi Koyama, who helps manage US$5.1 billion at Fukoku Capital Management Inc in Tokyo. "The earnings are looking good, which will continue to support the sentiment in the market."
Optimism that increased economic activity will fuel metals demand lifted copper futures in New York to six-year highs, boosting shares of Australian miners such as BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto Group.
An index of mining and materials companies was the main contributor to the S&P/ASX 200 Index's 0.5 percent gain this week.
BHP Billiton, the world's third-largest copper producer, climbed 3.4 percent to A$11.72 in the past five days. Rio Tinto, the world's fourth largest, jumped 3.2 percent to A$35.65.
RSS