Asian stocks fluctuated as exporters rose after confidence among US consumers increased to the highest level in five months in November, countering concerns Europe's debt crisis is worsening.
Honda, the Japanese automaker that gets more than 40 per cent of sales from North America, and Toyota, the world's biggest carmaker, increased at least 1.2 per cent in Tokyo. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, the nation's largest lender, fell 1 per cent in Hong Kong as China's manufacturing expanded at the fastest pace in seven months in November, indicating the economy is strong enough for officials to keep tightening monetary policy.
“Looking at the recent global macroeconomic indicators, we're still moderately positive on equities,” said Pearlyn Wong, an investment analyst in Singapore at Bank Julius Baer, which manages about $US262 billion in client assets worldwide. “Investors should bear in mind the potential risks out there from escalating tensions in the Korean peninsula to Europe's worsening debt crisis.”
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 0.2 per cent to 128.84 in Tokyo, with about the same number of stocks climbing as falling. The measure fell as much as 0.2 per cent earlier.
The Asia Pacific gauge fell 0.6 per cent last month, the first decline in three months, amid concern China will intensify efforts to curb inflation, speculation Europe will fail to contain the region's sovereign-debt crisis from spreading and as tensions in the Korean peninsula escalated.
Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average was little changed, while South Korea's Kospi Index rose 0.4 per cent. New Zealand's NZX 50 Index slid 0.3 per cent.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 0.3 per cent after a report showed the nation's economy expanded at half the pace forecast by economists in the third quarter as a stronger currency hurt exports.
China's Shanghai Composite Index advanced 0.1 per cent after a report showed the nation's Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 55.2 from 54.7 in October. That was more than the 54.8 median estimate of 14 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index lost 0.1 per cent.
Futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index were little changed today. The index dropped 0.6 per cent yesterday in New York amid concern that Europe's crisis of government debt will worsen and as Google, the world's biggest Internet-search company, faced an antitrust probe.
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today that it may cut Portugal's credit ratings on concern that the government has made little progress at boosting economic growth to offset the fiscal drag from scheduled 2011 budget cuts.