Asian stocks rose for the week, led by News Corp and exporters such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC,
The report "underpins the sentiment that the US and global economies are in recovery mode," said Hans Kunnen, who helps manage US$56 billion at Sydney-based Colonial First State Investments, the biggest fund manager in Australia.
The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific ex-Japan Index, which tracks 539 stocks, rose 3.9 percent last week to 224.81. The advance was the index's biggest gain in 12 weeks.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed at a two-and-a-half-year high. HSBC Holdings Plc climbed to a record after saying it would team up with the Bank of Shanghai to offer US dollar credit cards in China. PetroChina Co led gains among Chinese companies on optimism growth in China will bolster earnings.
South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co and Kia Motors Corp rose after the nation's two largest automakers said they expect record sales this year. India's Sensitive Index closed at a record high.
All regional benchmarks advanced in a week when many markets were closed to mark the new year. Markets in Japan, the Philippines, Thailand and New Zealand were closed yesterday.
Australia's News Corp, which gets three-quarters of its sales in the US, added 3 percent to A$12.23. The company relies on economic growth in the US to fuel advertising at its Fox television network and the New York Post newspaper.
TSMC, the world's largest maker of made-to-order computer chips, rallied 5.7 percent for the week to NT$65.50. Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd, which gets about two-thirds of its sales from the US, climbed 11 percent in the period to S$1.80.
The number of Americans filing first-time applications for state unemployment benefits fell to 339,000, the lowest in almost three years, the Labor Department said on Wednesday. Economists in a Bloomberg News survey expected claims would drop to 350,000.
US stock benchmarks had their first annual increases since 1999 last year, with the Standard & Poor's 500 rising 26 percent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 25 percent and the NASDAQ Composite Index climbing 50 percent.
On Friday, the S&P 500 dropped 0.3 percent to 1108.48, the Dow lost 0.4 percent to 10,409.85, while the NASDAQ added 0.2 percent to 2006.68.
The Institute for Supply Manage-ment's index of US manufacturing released yesterday jumped to 66.2 last month, the highest since December 1983, from 62.8 in November. Some economists in a Bloomberg News survey had expected the index to decline. Last month's reading was the sixth straight month over 50, signaling expansion.
The Hang Seng climbed 2.8 percent last week to 12,801.48, its highest since July 5, 2001. HSBC added 2.5 percent in the period to HK$124. The bank said holders of Shanghai International Credit Cards will be able to make overseas purchases at any merchants accepting Visa credit cards. HSBC owns 8 percent of the Bank of Shanghai.
PetroChina surged 23 percent in the week to HK$4.85. The nation's biggest oil producer agreed with the Shanghai government to supply gas to residents and manufacturers of China's biggest commercial city by 2007. China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, Asia's biggest refiner, climbed 29 percent to HK$3.84.
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