Asian stocks advanced, led by Samsung Electronics Co., after U.S. chipmakers such as Xilinx Inc. said profit climbed amid higher sales. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index had its biggest jump in three weeks. Advantest Corp., the world's biggest maker of equipment used to test computer-memory chips, rose after the Nihon Keizai newspaper said the company will beat its own first-half profit forecast. Company officials couldn't be reached for comment. ``Good news in the sector is lifting sentiment in the market and triggering gains among technology stocks,'' said Atsushi Osa, who helps manage the equivalent of $110 billion at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management Co. in Tokyo. Morgan Stanley Capital International's Asia-Pacific Index, which tracks more than 900 companies, added 0.4 percent to 90.25 at 1:10 p.m. in Tokyo. The benchmark's Information Technology Index climbed 0.7 percent.
China's Shanghai Composite Index rose after a government report showed economic growth expanded in the third quarter at its slowest pace in more than a year, indicating measures may be helping to cool the economy. Shares of BHP Billiton, and other companies that rely on sales to China gained. Other benchmarks in the region advanced, except for those in Taiwan and the Philippines. Markets in Hong Kong and India are closed today for a national holiday. Samsung Electronics, the world's second-largest chipmaker after Intel Corp., jumped 2 percent to 437,500 won. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world's biggest supplier of made-to-order chips, rose 1.2 percent to NT$43.70.
`Bottom Out'
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, which tracks 18 global chip-related companies including Taiwan Semiconductor, jumped 4 percent, its biggest advance since Oct. 1. Xilinx, the world's biggest maker of programmable semiconductors, said second-quarter profit surged 53 percent on sales to consumer electronics, communications and computer- networking customers. Broadcom Corp., whose semiconductors are used in consumer electronics, said third-quarter sales rose for the 10th consecutive period. ``The global technology industry is starting to bottom out and earnings haven't been as bad as the market had expected,'' said Kiyohide Nagata, a Tokyo-based fund manager at Invesco Asset Management (Japan) Ltd., which manages $1.8 billion in assets.
Nagata's Invesco Japan Alpha Fund has gained 14 percent this year, exceeding a 4.4 percent gain in Japan's broad Topix index. He declined to say what he's buying or selling. Advantest rose 1.6 percent to 6,970 yen. The company will probably say first-half profit expanded 12 times to 28.5 billion yen ($265 million) from a year ago because of increasing sales, the Nihon Keizai reported. That would exceed the company's own forecast of 26 billion yen, the paper said.
China
The Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks yuan-denominated A shares and foreign-currency B shares on the Shanghai stock exchange, rose 0.4 percent to 1315.84. The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks the smaller of the two Chinese markets, was little changed. China's economy expanded 9.1 percent in the third quarter from a year ago after climbing 9.6 percent in the second quarter, the government said in Beijing. The economy has been expanding amid an investment boom that led to power shortages and a clogged transport network. Lending curbs were introduced in April to cool the economy. ``The figure points to a soft landing for China's economy,'' said Lin Xuenong, an analyst with China Securities Co. in Shanghai.
China Yangtze Power Co., owner of the world's biggest hydropower project, gained 3.5 percent to 8.82 yuan. Yesterday, it reported a profit of 969.9 million yuan ($117 million) in its first set of third-quarter earnings since listing on the Shanghai stock exchange.
China Coattails
BHP Billiton climbed 1.3 percent to A$13.98. The world's biggest miner last month signed a $3.2 billion iron ore supply contract with four Chinese steelmakers, including Wuhan Iron & Steel Corp., China's third-largest steelmaker. China accounted for 9.8 percent of BHP Billiton's sales in the year ended June 30, up from 6.9 percent a year earlier. JFE Holdings Inc., Japan's second-largest steelmaker by sales, jumped 3.8 percent to 2,875 yen. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd., the nation's biggest tanker owner, climbed 4.7 percent to 716 yen. ``The biggest event today is China's GDP and that could really set the tone for the market going forward,'' Tatsuyuki Kawasaki, an equities manager at Kaneyama Securities Co. in Tokyo, said before the figures were released. ///www.bloomberg.com