Asian stocks headed for a two-day gain as information-technology and materials companies advanced, with Rio Tinto Group surging amid optimism for a merger with Glencore Plc.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index (MXAP) added 0.2 percent to 139.43 as of 9:04 a.m. in Tokyo before markets open in Hong Kong. The measure added 0.8 percent yesterday. Rio Tinto rose 4.3 percent after people familiar with the matter said Glencore has been laying groundwork to buy the world’s second-biggest miner.
The yen held its biggest advance against the dollar since April as the Bank of Japan is projected to keep record stimulus unchanged today. Both Australia and Indonesia will keep key interest rates on hold at reviews today, according to
economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Alcoa Inc. unofficially starts U.S. earnings season tomorrow.
“The yen bounced off lows last seen in 2008 as investors started to ponder the ramifications of the upcoming Bank of Japan policy-setting meeting,” said Tony Farnham, Sydney-based strategist at Patersons Securities Ltd. “Another earnings reporting cycle is just around the corner” in the U.S.
Japan’s Topix index fluctuated as the yen traded at 108.83 per dollar after climbing 0.9 percent yesterday. South Korea’s Kospi index added 0.5 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index slid 0.7 percent and New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index slipped 0.2 percent.
Protests in Hong Kong showed signs of winding down as pro-democracy demonstrators and the government agreed to start formal talks. Futures on the city’s Hang Seng Index and contracts on the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index were little changed in most recent trading.
Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost 0.1 percent. The underlying gauge slipped 0.2 percent yesterday as investors resumed a selloff of small-cap shares and investors awaited the start of reporting season to assess the strength of the U.S. economy.
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