Asian Stocks Rise on U.S. Earnings; Toyota, Samsung Lead Gains

By Chen Shiyin and Patrick Rial

April 23 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks rose after earnings reports from U.S. companies boosted confidence in the global economy and helped drive the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a record. Toyota Motor Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. advanced.

"The better-than-expected corporate earnings announcements as a whole gave relief to investors," said Soichiro Monji, who helps oversee about $47 billion at Daiwa SB Investments Ltd. in Tokyo.

BHP Billiton Ltd. led shares of mining companies higher following gains in metals prices. Inpex Holdings Inc., Japan's largest oil explorer, advanced as crude oil rose by the most in a week in New York.

The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index added 0.7 percent to 148.54 as of 9:48 a.m. in Tokyo, with all 10 of its industry groups climbing. Benchmarks gained across the region, with Australia and South Korea both set for new highs.

Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 1 percent to 17,622.81, set for its biggest advance in a week. Nippon Steel Corp. and JFE Holdings Inc., the nation's two largest steelmakers, rose after the Nikkei said their pretax profits may rise to records.

Toyota, Japan's largest automaker, added 1.2 percent to 7,470 yen. The company generated more than a third of its fiscal 2006 revenue in North America. Samsung, which accounted for about 16 percent of South Korean exports last year, advanced 1.4 percent to 581,000 won.

Earnings

Shares in the U.S. climbed on April 20 after earnings from companies including Caterpillar Inc. and American Express Co. topped estimates. The Dow Jones average rose 1.2 percent, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 0.9 percent.

Caterpillar, the world's largest maker of earthmoving equipment, said profit last quarter was $816 million, more than the average estimate of $736.1 million in a Bloomberg survey of five analysts. American Express, the No. 4 U.S. credit-card issuer, said earnings rose 21 percent to a record $1.1 billion, exceeding the $973 million forecast by analysts.

About 67 percent of companies in the S&P 500 that reported quarterly results topped analysts' estimates, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. In the fourth quarter, about 61 percent of S&P 500 members beat estimates.

"The U.S. market has reached record levels, suggesting global stock markets could stabilize," said Kim Hyung Chan, who manages $630 million at KTB Asset Management Co. in Seoul. "That's making investors feel more comfortable buying stocks."

Westfield Group, which owns 59 malls in the U.S., added 0.9 percent to A$21.61. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world's biggest customized-chip maker, rose 1.2 percent to Nt$48.30.

Metals, Oil

A measure of six metals traded on the London Metal Exchange gained 1.5 percent. Copper gained for 1.8 percent, lead added 2.5 percent and zinc increased 2.3 percent.

BHP Billiton, the world's biggest mining company, gained 0.7 percent to A$30.07. Rio Tinto Group, the third largest, climbed 0.7 percent to A$84. Nippon Mining Holdings Inc., Japan's biggest copper producer, rose 0.4 percent to 977 yen.

Crude oil for May delivery rose 2.5 percent on April 20 to settle at $63.38 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange amid concern a presidential election in Nigeria, Africa's biggest producer, may cause disruption to shipments. June futures were recently at $63.98.

Inpex added 1.8 percent to 983,000 yen. Woodside Petroleum Ltd., the largest oil producer in Australia after BHP, gained 1 percent to A$39.52, while Santos Ltd., Australia's third largest, rose 1.4 percent to A$11.25.

Steelmakers Climb

Nippon Steel climbed 1.3 percent to 779 yen. Nippon Steel's profit for the year ending March 31 may be 2 percent above estimates at a record 600 billion yen ($5.1 billion), the Nikkei newspaper said.

JFE may also increase its pretax profit by 2 percent to about 520 billion yen, the Nikkei said, without saying where it got the information. It will probably increase its dividend for the fiscal half year ending Sept. 30 by 10 yen to 60 yen, the report also said. The stock jumped 3.1 percent to 6,670 yen.

Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd., Japan's third-largest steelmaker, climbed 1.7 percent to 610 yen. Posco, the world's fourth-largest steelmaker, added 1.9 percent to 381,000 won.