Reply #21: Asian Stocks Rise to Record for 2nd Day; BHP, Samsung Advance

[Ghost Dog]

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aiFd.F3x3Bc0&refer=asia

June 1 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks rose to a second straight record, led by BHP Billiton Ltd. and Samsung Electronics Co., as prices of metals and memory chips climbed.

Toyota Motor Corp. jumped to a seven-week high on speculation U.S. sales gained in May. All 10 industry groups on the Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index rose. South Korea's Kospi posted a record 13th week of advances.

``Corporate and economic fundamentals are very strong,'' said Agnes Deng, who helps manage $3.5 billion at Standard Life Investments Asia in Hong Kong. ``Those kinds of things are building some support levels for the stock market.''

China's CSI 300 Index fell, resuming a slump triggered by the government's May 30 decision to triple the tax on securities trades to try to cool the region's best performing equity market.

The MSCI index added 0.9 percent to 151.56 as of 4.01 p.m. in Tokyo after rising 1.3 percent yesterday to a record. The measure was poised for a 2.6 percent advance this week, the most since a similar period ended March 23.

Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 0.5 percent. Indexes rose to records in South Korea and the Philippines, which led gains in the region. Only benchmarks in China and New Zealand dropped, while Indonesia is closed for a holiday.

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