BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP), the world’s largest mining company, gained 1.5 percent as raw-materials companies led the regional advance. Samsung Electronics Co., which will unveil a high-end Galaxy phone next week, advanced 2.4 percent in Seoul. Toyota Motor Corp. (7203) climbed 1.5 percent amid a rally in Japanese shares as the yen weakened against the dollar. National Australia Bank Ltd. lost 2.1 percent after the country’s biggest lender by assets reported slower profit growth than a peer.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.9 percent to 137.03 as of 9:20 a.m. in Tokyo, before markets open in Hong Kong and China. The gauge sank 1.3 percent yesterday as a preliminary reading for a China purchasing managers’ index unexpectedly fell to a seven-month low. A U.S. manufacturing index jumped more than expected, a separate report showed yesterday.

“We are in the relatively optimistic camp on the U.S. economy,” David Cassidy, a Sydney-based strategist at UBS AG, said by phone. “Investors are positioned for an improving growth trend in the U.S. Earnings growth is getting better and that will be enough to lift the market further this year.”

Japan’s Topix index today rose 1.7 percent. Minutes from the Bank of Japan’s Jan. 22 policy meeting showed some board members said the central bank should provide a clearer explanation that an expected decline in second-quarter domestic growth was factored into its outlook.

Regional Indexes

South Korea’s Kospi index advanced 1.1 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index added 0.7 percent and New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index rose 0.5 percent.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 4 percent this year through yesterday. It traded yesterday at 12.7 times estimated earnings of its constituent companies, compared with 15.6 for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index and 14.4 for the Stoxx Europe 600 Index, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Of the 374 companies on the Asia-Pacific measure that have reported results since the start of the year, and for which Bloomberg compiles estimates, some 53 percent have topped forecast, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Futures on the S&P 500 were little changed. The measure yesterday gained 0.6 percent after the manufacturing data and as Facebook Inc.’s $19 billion purchase of messaging service WhatsApp Inc. fueled optimism about deals.

U.S. Manufacturing

The Markit Economics preliminary index of U.S. manufacturing increased to 56.7 in February, surpassing economists’ estimates, while Labor Department figures indicated fewer applications for unemployment benefits last week. The Conference Board’s index of U.S. leading indicators, a gauge of the outlook for the next three to six months, rose in January in line with estimates.

Investors have been dismissing lower-than-forecast U.S. economic data over the past two weeks, pointing to harsh winter weather as a reason for unexpected weakness in reports from housing to hiring. The Bloomberg ECO U.S. Surprise Index, which measures how much recent data has beaten or missed economists’ estimates, fell to minus 0.423 yesterday, the lowest since September 2011.

Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen last week said the economy has strengthened enough to withstand continued cuts to monetary stimulus, adding that only a notable change in the outlook for the economy would prompt the central bank to slow the pace of tapering.

To contact the reporter on this story: Adam Haigh in Sydney at ahaigh1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Sarah McDonald at smcdonald23@bloomberg.net

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-21/asian-stocks-rise-after-u-s-manufacturing-gauge-climbs.html

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