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By Chen Shiyin and Masaki Kondo
Jan. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks advanced, led by technology companies and miners, after U.S. lawmakers agreed on a plan to boost spending and South Korea's economy grew faster than economists had expected.
Canon Inc. and LG Electronics Inc. paced gains on speculation the plan that includes tax rebates to U.S. families will bolster growth in Asia's largest overseas market. Posco rose in South Korea. BHP Billiton Ltd., the world's largest mining company, had its first three-day increase in a month as copper, gold and crude oil prices rallied.
``Investors will continue buying back into the market,'' Mamoru Shimode, an equity strategist at Deutsche Bank AG, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. ``The focus is on how fast the U.S. will introduce additional policies to help the economy.''
About nine stocks rose for each that retreated in the MSCI Asia Pacific Index, which climbed 3.1 percent to 143.78 at 10:54 a.m. in Tokyo, following a two-day, 5.6 percent advance. The benchmark is on course for its fourth straight weekly decline as gains failed to offset losses in the first two days of the week.
Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 2.2 percent to 13,378.59. South Korea's Kospi index climbed for a third day. All other benchmarks open for trading advanced, apart from China.
Technology companies also climbed after Nintendo Co., the maker of the Wii game console, raised its profit forecast and Microsoft Corp., the world's largest software maker, reported net income that topped analysts' estimates.
Stimulus Plan
U.S. stocks rose yesterday, helping the Standard & Poor's 500 Index to its biggest two-day rally since November. Xerox Corp., the world's largest maker of high-speed color printers, and Lockheed Martin Corp., the biggest defense company, advanced after reporting profit that exceeded analysts' expectations.
Canon, the world's largest of digital camers, jumped 4.4 percent to 4,750 yen, poised for its highest close in two weeks. LG Electronics added 3.4 percent to 96,200 won. Asia's No. 2 handset maker said yesterday profit climbed to a record.
The Bush administration and lawmakers announced an agreement on an economic stimulus plan that would distribute rebate checks to 117 million families and give businesses incentives to invest in equipment. The proposal also aims to stem mortgage-market losses by allowing lenders to buy more expensive home loans.
Speculation that any stimulus package will fail to stave off a recession sparked a two-day, 10 percent plunge in the MSCI's Asian index at the start of the week. Stocks rebounded after the Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate by the most in 23 years and New York regulators met with U.S. banks to consider bailing out bond insurers, easing concern that credit-market losses will widen.
Macquarie, Posco
Macquarie Group Ltd., Australia's biggest securities firm, jumped 5.9 percent to A$67.81. Mizuho Financial Group Inc., the third-largest publicly traded bank by market value in Japan, added 4.8 percent to 482,000 yen.
Posco, Asia's third-biggest steelmaker, added 2.5 percent to 500,000 won in South Korea. SK Telecom Co., the nation's largest mobile-phone operator, rose 2 percent to 206,000 won.
South Korea's growth accelerated to 1.5 percent from the third quarter's 1.3 percent, the central bank said in Seoul today. That beat the median estimate of 1.3 percent in a Bloomberg News survey of economists.
The report comes after China said yesterday its economy expanded more than 11 percent for the fourth straight quarter, supporting global growth amid a U.S. slowdown.
BHP jumped 3.3 percent to A$35.95, extending a two-day, 12 percent surge. The three-day rally will be the longest since a similar period ended Dec. 27. Rio Tinto Group, the world's third- biggest mining company, gained 4.2 percent to A$113.
Metals, Oil
A gauge of six metals traded on the London Metal Exchange, including copper and nickel, jumped 2 percent yesterday, while crude oil prices surged 2.8 percent. Gold for immediate delivery yesterday rose 2.5 percent to $912.85 an ounce.
Nippon Mining Holdings Inc., Japan's biggest copper producer, climbed 3.8 percent to 623 yen. Newcrest Mining Ltd., Australia's largest gold mining company, added 1.7 percent to A$34.58.
A measure of technology shares on the MSCI Asian index jumped 2.9 percent today, the best performer among the 10 industry groups. Advances today helped trim the technology index's 2008 loss to 12 percent.
Nintendo, Microsoft
Nintendo jumped 3.2 percent to 54,800 yen. Profit in the third quarter gained 63 percent from a year earlier. The world's biggest maker of handheld game players raised its annual forecast for operating profit by 9.5 percent to 460 billion yen.
Microsoft reported yesterday that net income climbed 79 percent to 50 cents a share, topping the 46-cent average of estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer increased the annual sales forecast to as much as $60.5 billion, signaling Microsoft can withstand a slowdown in the U.S. economy.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world's largest custom-chip maker, added 3.4 percent to NT$55.50. Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., which makes iPods for Apple Inc., jumped 5 percent to NT$166.50.
Centro Properties Group, the Australian owner of 700 U.S. malls, surged 37 percent to 65.5 Australian cents, extending yesterday's 35 percent gain. New Chief Executive Officer Glenn Rufrano yesterday ruled out a fire sale of assets as he seeks to refinance A$3.9 billion ($3.4 billion) of the company's debt.
``There were those comments from the new CEO that he didn't expect the banks to act precipitously,'' said Rob Patterson, who manages the equivalent of $3.8 billion at Argo Investments Ltd. in Adelaide. ``People have taken heart from that.''
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