ASIAN stocks advanced yesterday, led by exporters of cars and electronics, after Japanese and South Korean car makers outsold United States manufacturers in America for the first time and the dollar rallied.
Honda Motor Co, Japan's second-largest car maker, rose to a six-month high in Tokyo, and Kia Motors Corp climbed the most in three weeks in Seoul.
Sony Corp gained after the US Federal Reserve signaled interest rates won't be cut further, boosting the dollar. The US currency has dropped 15 percent against the yen in the past year, cutting the value of Japanese exporters' sales, said Bloomberg News.
"A sigh of relief is spreading among investors," said Kiyoshi Ishigane, a Tokyo-based senior strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co, which manages about US$61 billion. A weaker yen will "make life much easier for exporters, and might enable them to raise their earnings forecasts," he said.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 0.9 percent to 150.51 by 5:56pm in Tokyo, following a 1.8-percent retreat on Tuesday. A measure of car and consumer-electronic manufacturers surged 3 percent, the most in six weeks and the largest gain among the benchmark index's 10 industry groups.
Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 1.6 percent to 14,435.57. About half of Asia's equity markets advanced. China's CSI 300 Index dropped 1.9 percent, the region's biggest decline, on speculation that government measures to control prices will dent earnings for steel and coal companies.
Shares of commodity producers fell, led by Woodside Petroleum Ltd and Newcrest Mining Ltd, after crude oil and gold retreated.
US retreat
US stocks retreated on Tuesday on speculation that Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc will be forced to raise more capital, while a drop in oil prices dragged energy producers lower. Standard & Poor's 500 futures were down 0.4 percent.
Honda jumped 8.6 percent to 3,790 yen (US$36.22), the highest close since December 26. Kia Motors Corp, South Korea's second-biggest car manufacturer, rose 2.2 percent to 11,500 won (US$11.29).
Japanese and South Korean auto makers boosted May sales by 3.7 percent to win a record 48.2-percent market share in the US. General Motors Corp, Ford Motor Co and Chrysler LLC fell a combined 21 percent as gasoline near US$4 a gallon drove US consumers from pickups and sport-utility vehicles.
Mazda Motor Corp, which exports 80 percent of domestic production, surged 9.1 percent to 598 yen. The stock was also added to a list of recommended stocks by Merrill Lynch & Co.
Sony gained 2.8 percent to 5,510 yen, advancing for the fourth time in five days. Matsushita Electric Industrial Co, the world's largest maker of consumer electronics, added 1.4 percent to 2,475 yen. Nintendo Co climbed 2.8 percent to 58,400 yen.
The yen depreciated to as much as 105.56 against the US dollar from 104.25 at the close of stock trading in Tokyo on Tuesday. The US currency is down 15 percent against the yen since June 22, when the dollar reached a high of 124.13.