Investment

Asian securities up on anticipated earnings

By Jonathan Burgos and Kana Nishizawa in Singapore (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-08-23 13:30

TOKYO - Asian stocks rose, driving the MSCI Asia Pacific Index to its sixth advance in seven weeks, as better-than-estimated earnings from Cnooc Ltd to Westfield Group offset concerns the global recovery is faltering.

Cnooc Ltd, China's biggest offshore oil producer, advanced 3.4 percent last week in Hong Kong. Westfield, the world's largest owner of shopping malls, rose 1.1 percent in Sydney. Tokyo Electron Ltd, the world's second-biggest producer of chipmaking equipment, climbed 2.7 percent in Tokyo after larger rival Applied Materials Inc forecast higher-than-estimated profit.

"I'm telling people not to be too pessimistic," said Kenji Sekiguchi, general manager of strategic research and investment at Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co, which oversees about $73 billion in Tokyo. "The market in the second half of this year will reflect positive earnings more explicitly than the latest earnings season."

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.4 percent last week to 118.29, following the previous week's 3.7 percent retreat. The index has slumped about 8.4 percent from its high this year on April 15 as Europe's debt crisis, China's measures to curb property-price inflation and disappointing economic reports in the US fueled concern global growth may stall.

China's Shanghai Composite Index advanced 1.4 percent last week as the nation's economy surpassed Japan as the world's second largest last quarter. Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 0.8 percent.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 0.4 percent. South Korea's Kospi Index advanced 1.7 percent as sales at the nation's major department stores increased in July for a 17th month amid an economic recovery. Profits for companies in the MSCI Asia Pacific are forecast to rise 26 percent over the next 12 months. That compares with 27 percent growth for the MSCI World Index of stocks in 24 developed nations, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Energy-related stocks posted the biggest gain among 10 industry groups on the MSCI Pacific Index last week. Cnooc increased 3.4 percent to HK$13.26 as the oil explorer's first-half profit more than doubled, beating estimates as a rebound in the nation's economic growth spurred demand and helped drive a rally in crude prices. Woodside Petroleum Ltd, Australia's second-largest oil producer, advanced 4.1 percent to A$43.22 in Sydney.

China Shenhua Energy Co, a unit of the nation's biggest coal company, increased 5.9 percent to HK$29.70 as the company said it planned to buy assets from its parent.

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