ASIAN stocks gained for a fourth day after metals prices rose and Mori Building Co said profit growth will accelerate, fueling optimism that earnings in the region will withstand the global economic slowdown.
BHP Billiton Ltd, the world's biggest miner, rose to a two-week high in Sydney. Mitsubishi Estate Co and Japan's largest developers climbed, Bloomberg News said.
"The outlook for Asia in the second half is pretty good," said Chu Moon Sung, who oversees the equivalent of US$11 billion as head of overseas investment at Shinhan BNP Paribas Investment Trust Management Co in Seoul. "Since many investors are already underweight in some Asian markets, they'll perk up to the region if they see a recovery."
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.5 percent to 144.29 as of 4:42pm yesterday in Tokyo. Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 0.7 percent to 14,452.82. Most benchmark indexes in Asia advanced.
Mori Building, Japan's biggest privately held developer, said on Tuesday that it expects operating profit, or sales minus the cost of goods sold and administrative expenses, to surge 23 percent in the current business year ending in March 2009.