Asian Stocks Climb as Toshiba, JPMorgan Fuel Growth Optimism

(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks advanced, with the regional benchmark index heading for its sixth-consecutive weekly gain, as earnings reports from Toshiba Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted confidence the global recession is easing.

Toshiba, Japan’s largest semiconductor maker, jumped 4.4 percent after posting a smaller operating loss than previously forecast. HSBC Holdings Plc, which owns a U.S. mortgage business, climbed 2.6 percent in Hong Kong on optimism banking profits are recovering. Woolworths Ltd., Australia’s largest retailer, gained 3.1 percent in Sydney on better-than-estimated sales.

“Investors are optimistic that we will see better news from the second quarter onwards, said Tat Auyeung, a fund manager at Apex Capital Management in Hong Kong, which oversees $500 million. ‘‘Confidence in the market is returning.’’

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 1.5 percent to 90.26 at 12:04 p.m. in Tokyo, erasing its losses for the year. The gauge has risen 2.6 percent this week. A sixth weekly gain would be the longest winning streak since December 2006.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 2.2 percent to 8,949.55. South Korea’s Kospi index gained 0.8 percent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index added 1.6 percent. All markets open for trading advanced except China.

Nippon Steel Corp., the world’s No. 2 maker of the alloy, surged 9 percent in Tokyo trading on speculation that price cuts offered to automakers were less than anticipated. Megaworld Corp., the third-largest Philippine builder by market value, advanced 7.8 percent in Manila on higher profit.

Jobless Claims

Futures on the U.S. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost 0.4 percent. The gauge gained 1.6 percent yesterday as JPMorgan, the country’s second-largest bank by assets, reported a 10 percent decline in first-quarter earnings to $2.14 billion, or 40 cents a share. That beat the estimate of 32 cents expected by analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index has rallied 27 percent from a more than five-year low reached on March 9 amid signs government measures worldwide to ease the global recession are working. The U.S. Labor Department reported yesterday new jobless claims in the week ended April 11 fell by the fewest since January.

Analysts’ earnings estimates for companies included in the MSCI benchmark started to rise this month after a year of falling predictions, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Toshiba added 4.4 percent to 332 yen in Tokyo. The operating loss, or sales minus the cost of goods sold and administrative expenses, was 250 billion yen ($2.5 billion), or 11 percent smaller than the company’s previous 280 billion yen loss projection, the company said.

Nokia, Google

Computer-memory chipmakers climbed after prices of the benchmark dynamic random access memory, or DRAM, chips climbed 7.6 percent yesterday to the highest since Oct. 14. Hynix Semiconductor Inc. gained 7.6 percent to 14,250 won, while largest memory chipmaker Samsung Electronics Co. rose 3.1 percent to 599,000 won in Seoul.

Technology shares also rose after Nokia Oyj, the world’s biggest maker of mobile phones, said yesterday that demand was stabilizing. Google Inc., the world’s most popular search engine, said first-quarter profit rose 8.9 percent, exceeding analysts’ estimates.

Finance stocks on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index accounted for 22 percent of the gauge’s advance today. The shares are the third-best performers of the MSCI measure’s 10 industry groups in the past month.

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European Stocks May Decline; UBS, ING, Philips, BHP Billiton Might Drop

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks may fall, following
declines in Asia and the U.S., as concern mounts that losses in
the U.S. mortgage market will erode economic growth and raise
financing costs for companies.

UBS AG and ING Groep NV may lead financial stocks lower.
U.S.-traded shares of Royal Philips Electronics NV and Nokia Oyj
dropped as the dollar traded near a record low against the euro.
BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Group declined in Australian
trading after copper fell in Shanghai.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Tellabs shares up on report of Nokia Siemens offer

(Reuters) - Shares in Nokia fell 0.52 percent in Helsinki trading, compared with a 0.42 percent rise in the DJ Stoxx European technology index .




The two companies declined comment.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Tellabs shrs jump on report of Nokia Siemens offer

(Reuters) - HELSINKI/NEW YORK, July 23 - Shares of Tellabs Inc. surged 19 percent on Monday after a financial news Web site reported the U.S. telecommunications equipment maker was entertaining a $7 billion bid by a joint venture of Nokia Oyj and Siemens AG .



TheStreet.com said Nokia Siemens Networks [NSN.UL] was offering about $16 to $17 a share for Tellabs, citing a source familiar with the deal.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

U.S. Stock-Index Futures Are Little Changed; Merck Advances in Europe

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures were little
changed before companies including Merck & Co., the third-largest
U.S. drugmaker, and American Express Co. report earnings.

Shares of Merck rose in Germany, while American Express
didn't trade in Europe. Tellabs Inc. surged after Thestreet.com
said Nokia Siemens Networks may bid for the maker of equipment
for phone and Internet systems. Pharmaceuticals company Schering-
Plough Corp. declined.


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Nokia Transforms Margin-Sapping India, China Markets Into Profit Machines

(Bloomberg) -- Nokia Oyj, the world's largest cell-
phone maker, disappointed shareholders twice in the past three
years by failing to keep up with consumer trends. This time, the
company may have it right.

Models such as the 550 euro ($759) N95 are paying off as
customers trade up from starter phones in India and China. The
shift is restoring profit margins that Chief Executive Officer
Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo sacrificed last year when he focused on
cheaper phones to win sales in those countries, where Nokia is
the dominant brand.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

European Stocks Drop; Air France, DaimlerChrysler, Nokia Lead the Decline

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks fell the most in two
weeks as rising oil prices pushed airlines, automakers and
chemical producers lower and Goldman, Sachs & Co. downgraded
shares of Nokia Oyj.

Air France-KLM Group, the region's largest carrier, carmaker
DaimlerChrysler AG and chemical company BASF AG led a retreat by
companies most sensitive to increasing energy costs. Nokia, the
world's biggest maker of mobile phones, had its biggest drop in
five months.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

U.S. Stock-Index Futures Fall on Rising Yields, Oil; Home Depot Declines

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures fell after
bond yields climbed for a second day and the price of crude oil
approached $70 a barrel.

Home Depot Inc., the world's largest home-improvement
chain, and Nokia Oyj, the biggest maker of mobile phones,
dropped after analysts cut their recommendations on the shares.


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Nordic Stocks Increase, Led by Ericsson, Nokia; Shares of M-real Rally

(Bloomberg) -- Nordic stocks rose for a third day.
Nokia Oyj, the world's largest mobile-phone maker, paced gains.
Ericsson AB, the world's biggest maker of wireless phone
networks, also climbed.

M-real Oyj rallied after Morgan Stanley said Finland's
third-largest papermaker was its ``top pick'' in the industry.


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