Canon Inc. (7751), a Japanese camera maker that depends on Europe for about a third of its sales, rose 0.5 percent. Komatsu Ltd. (6301), a construction machinery maker that counts China as its largest market, added 0.5 percent in Tokyo. Rio Tinto Group (RIO), an Australian mining company, rose 1 percent after metal prices gained. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. (8316), Japan’s No. 2 publicly traded bank, rose 1.1 percent after it won a bid to buy Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc’s aircraft-leasing division.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.6 percent to 116.33 as of 10:06 a.m. in Tokyo, rebounding from a 1.1 percent decline yesterday, the biggest since Dec. 19. More than four stocks rose for each that fell on the gauge. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi yesterday said loans offered last month to the region’s banks helped avoid “a major credit crunch.”

“It does seem like markets are taking a glass-half-full view of Europe and they seemed to be very impressed by the liquidity that’s coming out of” the ECB, said Andrew Pease, Sydney-based chief investment strategist for the Asia-Pacific region at Russell Investment Group, which manages $150 billion. “Anecdotally, we are hearing China’s senior leadership is very, very concerned about the outlook in Europe, which tells you the bias is to ease policy more than they have already.”

French Debt Sale

Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 0.1 percent today after U.S. markets were closed yesterday for a holiday. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 0.8 percent yesterday, snapping a three-day loss, as French borrowing costs fell at the country’s first debt auction since Standard Poor’s its credit rating last week.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 0.5 percent, and South Korea’s Kospi Index gained 1.5 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced 1.1 percent.

Stock rose ahead of a report expected to show China’s gross domestic product rose 8.7 percent from a year earlier, the slowest pace since the second quarter of 2009, according to the median forecast of 26 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The data, plus indicators for investment, retail sales and industrial production, will be released today in Beijing.

The London Metal Exchange Index of prices for six metals including copper and aluminum yesterday gained 0.7 percent to the highest level since October 31.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 1.6 percent this year through Jan. 13, compared with a 2.5 percent gain by the S&P 500 and a 2.7 percent increase by the Stoxx Europe 600 Index. Stocks in the Asian benchmark are valued at 12.2 times estimated earnings on average, compared with 12.3 times for the S&P 500 and 10.1 times for the Stoxx 600.

To contact the reporter on this story: Yoshiaki Nohara in Tokyo at ynohara1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Gentle at ngentle2@bloomberg.net.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-17/asian-stocks-rise-on-french-debt-sale-china-s-policy-outlook-as-gdp-slows.html

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