Asian Stocks Rise on U.S. Confidence, Homes; Air China Gains

Asian stocks advanced, lifting the MSCI Asia Pacific Index to its highest level in more than a week, after U.S. consumer confidence gained and American home prices fell less than economists estimated.

Toyota Motor Corp., which gets 31 percent of its sales in North America, climbed 1.5 percent, while Honda Motor Co. added 1 percent in Tokyo. Air China Ltd., the country’s biggest international carrier, gained 3.5 percent in Shanghai after saying first-half net income doubled.

“People are generally happy that things are improving,” said Tim Schroeders, who helps manage about $1 billion at Pengana Capital Ltd. in Melbourne. “It’s now a question of how strong that is going to be. We’re probably still going to get the occasional rogue figure from time to time.”

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.3 percent to 113.43 as of 11:23 a.m. in Tokyo. The gauge has climbed 61 percent from a more than five-year low on March 9 on speculation government stimulus packages and lower borrowing costs will revive the global economy.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 0.6 percent as a government report showed the country’s exports fell 36.5 percent in July from a year earlier. The median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for a 38.4 percent decrease. China’s Shanghai Composite Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.8 percent.

Noritz Corp., which makes water heaters, soared 10 percent in Tokyo after Credit Suisse Group AG said the party favored to win Japanese elections on Aug. 30 will push a policy that would require people to replace old boilers. Consolidated Media Holdings Ltd. surged 11 percent in Sydney after agreeing to sell a stake in Australia’s largest employment Web site.