Reply #11: Asian Stocks Rise on U.S. Retail Sales; Nintendo, Rio Advance

[Ghost Dog]

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=adpUU7HzHHbM&refer=asia

Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Asia's benchmark stock index rose the most in nine weeks after U.S. retail sales climbed during the post-Thanksgiving weekend, boosting the prospects for exports to the region's biggest overseas market.

Nintendo Co., maker of the Wii game console, and LG Electronics Inc., Asia's second-largest maker of mobile phones, advanced after ShopperTrak RCT Corp. reported that U.S. retail sales on Nov. 23 climbed 8.3 percent from a year earlier. Westfield Group, the owner of 59 shopping malls in the U.S., rose to a three-week high.

``The holiday shopping spending in the U.S. may be surprisingly healthy,'' said Hisakazu Amano, who helps oversee about $16 billion at T&D Asset Management Co. in Tokyo.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 2.7 percent to 158.51 at 5:52 p.m. in Tokyo, set for its biggest advance since Sept. 19. More than six stocks gained for each that slid. South Korea's Kospi climbed 82.45, or 4.7 percent, its second-biggest gain on record behind an increase of 93.20 on Aug. 20.

Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 1.7 percent to 15,135.21 and the broader Topix index jumped 2.1 percent, led by Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., after the Nikkei newspaper said China's new state investment fund will buy Japanese stocks.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index added 2.2 percent in Australia, where voters ousted Prime Minister John Howard on Nov. 24 and elected Kevin Rudd as their new leader. Rio Tinto Group surged after the China Business Journal said the Chinese state-backed fund plans to bid for the world's third-largest mining company.

Benchmarks gained elsewhere in the region, except for China and Sri Lanka.

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