Asian investors took advantage of lower oil prices on Thursday to buy beaten-down technology stocks across the region, snapping a nine-session losing streak by Japan's key stock index. Electronics shares jumped following tech-sector buying on Wall Street, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. <2330.TW> up 1.87 percent and South Korea's LG Electronics Inc. <066570.KS> 2.35 percent higher. "I think it is a simple rebound in oversold stocks because investors are not necessarily buying shares with the best fundamentals," said Alvin Teng, assistant research manager at SinoPac Securities in Taiwan. Japan's Nikkei stock average <.N225> ended the morning session up 1.14 percent at 10,909.55 after nine-straight sessions of losses, its longest fall in two years. Daido Steel Co. Ltd <5471.T>, a manufacturer of speciality steel, rallied 3.58 percent after the company doubled its first-half profit forecast. Nikon Corp. <7731.T> rose 2.76 percent after raising its net profit forecast by 50 percent following the settlement of a patent dispute.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 stock index <.AXJO> extended its record-setting run, leaping nearly half a percent in morning trade to an all-time high of 3,673.1 before easing back a bit. The index was boosted by a bidding war for pub operator Australian Leisure Hotels Ltd. (ALH) . The nation's biggest food and liquor operator Woolworths Ltd. and its partner upped the ante with a A$1.11 billion ($799 million) cash bid, topping a previous offer from private equity firm Newbridge Capital. ALH rose 2.55 percent while Woolworths climbed 1.5 percent. Australian shopping centre giant Westfield Group climbed 0.2 percent after offering 585 million pounds ($1.06 billion) to buy UK property group Chelsfield.
OIL EASES
U.S. light crude fell 11 cents in Asian trade to $49.40 a barrel, not far off the record peak of $50.47 but above Wednesday's low of $48.40. Prices dipped on a report of a higher-than-expected increase in U.S. crude stockpiles and a preliminary cease-fire by rebels in Nigeria's oil-rich delta region. But even with oil about $1 a barrel off the record high, crude prices have risen more than 50 percent so far this year. The dollar traded at 110.97 yen , from 110.83 yen in late New York, while the euro fetched $1.2321, down slightly from $1.2334. The benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond yield <0#JPTSY=JBTC> continued its climb from a six-month low set earlier this week, rising two basis points to 1.435 percent. Japanese industrial output rose last month for the first time since May, but only by 0.3 percent as manufacturers moderated production to avoid a build-up in inventories as exports slow. "It seems to reflect the recent slowdown in exports along with an adjustment in strong demand from the United States," said Azusa Kato, an economist at BNP Paribas. "We could see output for the July-September quarter fall from April-June," Kato said.
GROWTH SLOWS
Evidence is growing that Japan's economic recovery over the past two years is losing momentum. A survey showed that Japanese factories increased production again in September, though at the slowest rate in a year as growth in new export orders faltered, particularly from China. The /Nomura/JMMA Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), which gives an early snapshot of manufacturing activity, stood at a seasonally adjusted 53.6 in September, showing the 16th straight month of growth but down from 54.9 in August. "There's still few signs, from this (PMI) report anyway, of a significant upturn in domestic demand for manufactured goods, so with export order growth showing signs of waning, that's a real cause for concern," said Chris Williamson, senior economist at NTC Research. Still, most economists believe that Japan, the world's second-largest economy, will not fall back into recession. The MSCI index of Asian share markets outside Japan <.MSCIAPJ> rose 0.7 percent, with the industrial <.MSCIAPJIN> and energy <.MSCIAPJEN> components up about 1 percent each. Taiwan's benchmark index <.TWII> rose 1.24 percent, while Singapore's Straits Times Index <.STI> edged up 0.55 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index <.HSI> was 1.4 percent higher. After three days of South Korean holidays, investors pushed Seoul's benchmark stock index <.KS11> up 0.28 percent. Spot gold was steady at $411.75 an ounce in Asian trade from $412.65 in late New York. The Dow Jones Industrial average <.DJI> closed up 0.58 percent at 10,136.24. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> closed up 1.29 percent at 1,893.94.///