LG Electronics Inc. (066570), the world’s No. 3 maker of mobile phones, jumped 6.9 percent in Seoul. Glencore International Plc, rose 4.6 percent in Hong Kong on a report the world’s biggest publicly traded commodities trader is nearing an agreement to combine with Xstrata Plc. Lynas Corp. surged 18 percent in Sydney after the rare earths supplier won approval to start production in Malaysia.

“We got more confirmation that business confidence in the U.S. and Europe is improving,” saidMitsushige Akino, who oversees about $600 million at Ichiyoshi Investment Management Co. in Tokyo. “The European debt crisis is in a temporary lull, so stocks sensitive to the economy will have a chance to gain.”

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 1.2 percent to 124.57 as of 1:45 p.m. in Tokyo, poised for its highest close since Oct. 28. About three shares rose for each that fell. In January, the measure posted its biggest monthly advance since September 2010 amid bets China will ease lending curbs, the U.S. economy is improving and Europe is containing its debt crisis.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 0.9 percent, while the broader Topix Index advanced 0.9 percent. Trading of 241 companies on the Tokyo Stock Exchange including Sony Corp. and Hitachi Ltd. was suspended for the morning session because of a computer glitch, the worst disruption in six years.

Kospi, Hang Seng

South Korea’s Kospi Index climbed 1.1 percent, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index increased 1.2 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index advanced 1.5 percent. China’s Shanghai Composite Index added 0.3 percent.

Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 0.2 percent today. The measure advanced gained 0.9 percent in New York yesterday after reports showed manufacturing in the U.S. grew in January at the fastest pace in seven months, while a gauge of U.K. factory activity jumped to an eight-month high and German output grew for the first time since September.

Asian exporters gained. LG Electronics jumped 6.9 percent to 90,100 won in Seoul. Quanta Computers Inc. (2382), the world’s largest maker of notebook computers, advanced 6.8 percent to NT$67.6. James Hardie Industries SE, a supplier of building materials that counts the U.S. as its top market, rose 4.9 percent to A$7.29 in Sydney.

Toyota, Nissan

Japanese carmakers rallied after a report from Autodata Corp. showed sales of cars and light trucks in the U.S. climbed 11 percent in January from a year earlier as consumers replaced aging vehicles.

Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s biggest automaker, increased 3.1 percent to 2,944 yen in Tokyo. Honda Motor Co., which increased U.S. deliveries for the first time since April, gained 2.3 percent to 2,735 yen. Nissan Motor Co. (7201), Japan’s third-largest carmaker, added 2.5 percent to 746 yen.

Raw Material producers led gains among the 10 industry groups in the MSCI Asia Pacific Index after a gauge of industrial metals prices rose yesterday, snapping a three-day streak of declines.

Jiangxi Copper Co., China’s biggest producer of the metal, climbed 3 percent to HK$20.20.Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd., the No. 1 supplier of the light alloy, rose 2.2 percent to HK$3.80.

Glencore jumped 4.6 percent to HK$53 in Hong Kong. The company may be nearing an agreement to combine with Xstrata, adding mines from Africa to Asia, two people with knowledge of the plan told Bloomberg News.

Rio Tinto, Lynas

Rio Tinto Group, the world’s third-biggest mining company, advanced 3.4 percent to A$71.06 in Sydney after agreeing to buy BHP Billiton Ltd.’s stake in a titanium venture in South Africa. BHP, the world’s No. 1 mining company, increased 2.3 percent to A$37.74.

Lynas surged 18 percent to A$1.575 in Sydney, the biggest advance on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index. (MXAP) The company is set to start production at the world’s biggest rare earth refinery in Malaysia after it won approval from the Southeast Asian country’s Atomic Energy Licensing Board. Rare earths are 17 elements used in making products including Apple Inc.’s iPod music players, flat-screen televisions, and hybrid cars.

Stocks also rose as discussions between Greece and its creditors continued to progress. The Greek government is “one step from closing” a debt-swap deal with private bondholders, Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos told reporters in Athens yesterday.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 8.1 percent this year through yesterday, compared with increases of 5.3 percent by the S&P 500 and 6.1 percent by the Stoxx Europe 600 Index. Stocks in the Asian benchmark are valued at 1.3 times book value. That compares with 2.2 times for the S&P 500 in the U.S. and 1.5 times for the Europe Stoxx 600.

To contact the reporters on this story: Jonathan Burgos in Singapore atjburgos4@bloomberg.net; Masaaki Iwamoto in Tokyo at miwamoto4@bloomberg.net

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

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-02/asian-stocks-rise-for-third-day-on-global-outlook-glitch-hits-tokyo-trade.html

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