Asian stocks rose, extending a two-week rally, after higher-than-forecast wholesale inventories in the US and China's industrial output increased at a faster pace than economists estimated.
Honda, which generates 46 per cent of its sales in North America, increased 1.4 per cent in Tokyo. Komatsu, which counts China as its biggest market, advanced 1.3 per cent. Hon Hai Precision Industry, the world's largest contract maker of electronics, rose 2.8 per cent in Taipei after saying sales in August surged. BHP Billiton, the world's largest mining company, gained 1.5 per cent on higher commodity prices.
“Concerns are easing about the future of the global economy,” Toshiyuki Kanayama, a market analyst at Tokyo-based Monex.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.9 per cent to 122.86, with almost four stocks rising for each one that fell. The measure has climbed 6 per cent from a one-month low on Aug. 25 amid speculation the US will avoid slipping back into recession.
Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average jumped 1.1 per cent and the Kospi index increased 0.4 per cent in Seoul. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index advanced 1 per cent while China's Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.2 per cent.
Futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index climbed 0.6 per cent. The index rose 0.5 per cent in New York on Sept. 10 after a government report showed inventories at US wholesalers rose in July by the most in two years as a rebound in demand prompted companies to add to stockpiles.
Toyota, Sony rise
Honda, which counts North America as its biggest market for sales, rose 1.4 per cent to 2,825 yen in Tokyo. In Seoul, Hyundai, which gets 13 per cent of its revenue in North America, advanced 1.4 per cent to 150,000 won.
In China, industrial production gained 13.9 per cent in August from a year earlier, more than the 13 per cent median estimate of 29 economists, a statistics bureau report showed in Beijing on Sept. 11. Consumer prices jumped 3.5 per cent, the most in 22 months, as food costs climbed while retail sales increased 18.4 per cent.
A gauge of industrial companies in the MSCI Asia Pacific Index, which includes trading houses, machinery makers and railway companies, rose 0.9 per cent, the second-biggest increase of 10 industry groups.
Komatsu, which receives 26 per cent of its revenue from China, rose 1.3 per cent to 1,850 yen in Tokyo. Fanuc, the robotics maker which counts Asia excluding Japan as its biggest market, rose 1.7 per cent to 9860 yen.
Copper, oil
In Taipei, Hon Hai jumped 2.8 per cent to $NT111. The company said non-consolidated sales almost doubled in August from the same month last year.
The gauge of raw-material producers in the MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 1.2 per cent. Copper futures in New York climbed 1.9 per cent in after-hours trading, while crude oil jumped 1.1 per cent as the economic data from China boosted prospects for commodity demand.
BHP rose 1.4 per cent to $38.51 in Sydney and was the biggest contributor to the MSCI Asia Pacific Index's advance today. Rio Tinto, the world's third-biggest mining company, climbed 1.3 per cent to $75.19. Inpex, Japan's largest oil and gas explorer, increased 2.4 per cent to 418,500 yen in Tokyo.