Asian stocks rose for the first time in four days, led by companies reliant on overseas sales, after U.S. service industries returned to growth following 11 months of contraction.

Mazda Motor Corp., Japan’s No. 4 carmaker, rose 7.6 percent in Tokyo after narrowing a loss forecast and as a private report on services, which account for almost 90 percent of the U.S. economy, fueled optimism growth will pick up. Jiangxi Copper Co. climbed 4.1 percent in Hong Kong after commodity prices gained. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. added 3.6 percent after Japan’s financial services minister said lenders won’t have to boost provisions for bad loans should borrowers delay repayments.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 1.4 percent to 115.29 as of 5:44 p.m. in Tokyo, following a three-day, 3.6 percent drop. The gauge has rallied 63 percent from a five-year low on March 9 amid better-than-estimated economic data and earnings reports. Shares on the gauge trade at an average 22 times estimated profit, more than the MSCI World Index’s 17 times.
“Asian markets are at higher valuations than most other markets, but the expectation is that you’ll get a lot more growth,” said Philip Schwartz, who manages $1.2 billion as head of international investing at ING Investment Management in New York. “Unless the numbers are really disappointing, I don’t think there’s a lot of risk to the markets.” Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 0.2 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.8 percent, as Alibaba.com Ltd., operator of China’s biggest trading Web site, surged 4.4 percent after Deutsche Bank AG upgraded the stock. China’s markets are closed for a holiday. Australian Rate Increase
Singapore’s Straits Times Index climbed 1.2 percent, with CapitaLand Ltd. gaining 3 percent after announcing plans to list a retail subsidiary. DeNA Co., the operator of auction and shopping Web sites, surged 13 percent in Tokyo on plans to form an alliance with a U.S. iPhone application developer.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index advanced 0.4 percent. The gauge pared earlier gains after the nation’s central bank unexpectedly raised its benchmark interest rate from a 49-year low amid signs the economy is strengthening.
(Source: Bloomberg)