BHP leads Asia's second day rally

By Chua Kong Ho  |   2008-8-1  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

ASIAN stocks rose for a second day yesterday, led by BHP Billiton Ltd after prices of oil and copper climbed.

BHP, the world's largest mining company, and Cnooc Ltd, the Chinese mainland's biggest offshore explorer, advanced after oil climbed more than US$4 a barrel yesterday and metals rose.

Alumina Ltd gained after reporting higher first-half sales and prices. Orient Overseas (International) Ltd, the largest container line in the Hong Kong market, tumbled the most in almost six years, and Yamaha Motor Co, the world's second-largest motorcycle maker, fell after posting lower profits, capping gains for Asia's benchmark index, Bloomberg News reported.

"Commodity companies can still be expected to produce relatively strong earnings," said Hiroshi Fujimoto, a fund manager at Shinkin Asset Management Co in Tokyo. "Auto-parts makers can't avoid the effects of the depressed United States market."

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 0.3 percent to 132.45 yesterday in Tokyo as six of its 10 industry groups advanced.

The Asian benchmark index has fallen 3.2 percent this month, adding to its 16 percent retreat this year on concern that the US economy is slowing amid record fuel prices.

Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 0.1 percent to 13,376.81. Nintendo Co, the maker of the Wii video game machine, plunged the most in six months after leaving profit forecasts unchanged in spite of the 34-percent first-quarter profit growth.

Most other markets open for trading in Asia advanced. In the US, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 1.7 percent yesterday, led by the biggest gain in energy shares in six years as oil prices increased and a private report showed an unexpected rise in jobs. S&P 500 futures were 0.3 percent lower.