GLOBAL MARKETS-Corporate results support stocks, outlook foggy

Fri Apr 17, 2009 2:42am EDT
By Kevin Plumberg
HONG KONG, April 17 (Reuters) - Asian stocks rose on Friday after results from JPMorgan and Google kept shares on track for a sixth week of gains, while the euro fell to a one-month low on uncertainty over what non-standard policy action the European Central Bank will enact.
A jump in Chinese industrial output in March has added to a sense previously instilled by U.S. indicators that the pace of deterioration has slowed from the alarming rate of just a few months ago, supporting a month-long rally in global stocks.
Still, comments from policy makers about the economic outlook were cautious and hardly embraced the potential for a speedy recovery. Federal Reserve official Janet Yellen said in a speech there are tentative signs of stability but it was still impossible to know how deep the U.S. recession will ultimately be. [ID:nN16292104]
Higher-yielding currencies, like the Australian dollar and New Zealand dollar, have been rallying alongside global equity markets, but not to same extent, with currency dealers still concerned about the mixed bag of economic data around the world.
"Corporate reports allowed negative developments to be overlooked," said Dariusz Kowalczyk, chief investment strategist with SJS Markets in Hong Kong, in a note to clients.
"As a result, risk appetite continued to improve, depressing prices of sovereign developed debt and lifting prices of equities, corporate credit and most commodities."
The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS edged up 0.3 percent on the day, set to close higher for a sixth consecutive week. That would be the longest weekly string of gains since the second half of 2007, when the bull market reached its apex.
Japan's Nikkei share average .N225 climbed 1.7 percent, with investors selling defensive industries like pharmaceuticals and buying industries sensitive to business cycles like automakers.
Shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (8306.T), the country's largest bank, rose 1.6 percent, supported after first quarter profits at JPMorgan (JPM.N) topped estimates though they were still down some 40 percent from a year ago. [ID:nN16542451]
Citigroup (C.N) is expected to report its first quarter results before Wall Street opens for trading.
Taiwan's tech-filled TAIEX index tumbled 4 percent, the biggest single-day decline in three months, after dealers closed out positions after the index failed to stay above 6,000. Taiwan, a weather vane for U.S. and Chinese demand, has been a regional leader in the equity rally.