Stocks rise in Asia on strength of tech sector

ASIAN stocks advanced the most this month, led by technology shares, on signs sales of consumer electronics will withstand an economic slowdown in the United States, Bloomberg News reported yesterday.

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, the maker of iPods and iPhones for Apple Inc, and Advantest Corp gained after Research In Motion Ltd, the maker of BlackBerrys, and Qualcomm Inc raised their profit forecasts. "Demand for electronics appeared to be holding up, easing investors' worries about tech companies' outlook," said Eric Chou, who helps manage US$1.8 billion at Jih Sun Securities Investment Trust Co in Taipei.

China Life Insurance Co led the country's insurers higher after the nation's central bank raised interest rates, boosting returns on fixed-income investments. Nippon Steel Corp paced gains by steel makers on speculation demand for the alloy will boost prices.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 1.3 percent to 153.85 in Tokyo, snapping a seven-day, eight percent decline. The advance is the most since November 29 and pared the index's loss for the week to 1.9 percent. Nine of the 10 industry groups on the benchmark climbed yesterday.

For the year, the measure is up 10 percent, on course for its lowest annual gain in five years. Stocks on the benchmark are now valued at an average 17 times reported earnings, compared with 18 times profit for the Standard & Poor's 500 Index.

Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 1.5 percent to 15,257. All Asia's benchmarks advanced. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.1 percent, snapping its longest losing streak in five years, led by National Bank of Australia Ltd on speculation recent declines were excessive relative to earnings prospects.

Hon Hai rose 2.1 percent to NT$191.5 (US$5.89) in Taipei, boosting its gain for the week to 8.2 percent, its largest weekly advance in four months. Advantest, the world's biggest maker of memory-chip testers, added 4.6 percent to 3,220 yen (US$28.41).

Tokyo Electron Ltd, the world's No. 2 manufacturer of chip equipment, added 4.9 percent to 6,810 yen, its biggest gain in two weeks.

Research In Motion said sales this quarter will increase to as much as US$1.87 billion on consumer demand for the BlackBerry e-mail phone. Qualcomm said sales will climb to about US$2.4 billion, the high end of an earlier forecast, as people continue to buy phones with advanced features.

In the US, the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 1.5 percent on Thursday, the biggest increase in two weeks, after Oracle Corp projected third-quarter revenue will rise as much as 23 percent, more than the average estimate of analysts in a Bloomberg survey.

China Life, the nation's biggest insurer, added 2.9 percent to HK$40.60 in Hong Kong, its best gain this month. Ping An Insurance (Group) Co, the second-largest insurer, rose 1.9 percent to HK$82.10 in Hong Kong.

China raised interest rates for a sixth time this year to cool decade-high inflation. The benchmark one-year lending rate will increase to 7.47 percent, a nine-year high, from 7.29 percent, starting yesterday.