Asian Stocks Rise as Index Enters Bull Market; Hutchison Jumps

March 26 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks climbed, extending the regional benchmark index’s biggest monthly rally since 1998, on better-than-estimated U.S. economic reports and earnings from Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. U.S. futures advanced. 

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index has rallied 21 percent from a five-year low on March 9, technically entering a bull market. Sony Corp., which gets a quarter of its sales from the U.S., surged 7.4 percent in Tokyo after U.S. durable-goods orders rose the most in more than a year. Hong Kong’s Hutchison, billionaire Li Ka-shing’s biggest company, added 3.3 percent. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. soared 15 percent as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. agreed to extend a lockup on its shareholding. 

“The stock market has entered a path to recovery,” said Yoshihiro Ito, senior strategist at Tokyo-based Okasan Asset Management Co., which oversees about $9.3 billion. “The better- than-expected U.S. indicators signal the bottoming out of the global economy.” 

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 1.5 percent to 85.60 as of 7:16 p.m. in Tokyo. The gauge jumped 14 percent in March, the biggest monthly gain since October 1998, when governments were cutting interest rates to alleviate the Asian financial crisis. 

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 1.8 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 3.6 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index advanced 1 percent as the central bank said the country wasn’t at risk of a U.S.-style subprime crisis. All markets advanced except New Zealand and Sri Lanka. 

Beating Expectations 

Elpida Memory Inc., Japan’s biggest maker of computer- memory chips, surged 18 percent on optimism share sales units will help it avoid early repayment of loans. Hynix Semiconductor Inc. soared 15 percent in Seoul after saying production cuts will lead chipmakers to a better second half this year. Li & Fung Ltd., which supplies clothes and toys to Wal-Mart Stores Inc., fell 4.7 percent in Hong Kong on lower profit. 

Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed 0.9 percent today. The gauge gained 1 percent yesterday as government reports showed February orders for U.S. durable goods gained the most since December 2007, while sales of new homes increased last month from a record-low pace in January. Economists had expected both figures to decline. 

Sony, the world’s second-biggest maker of consumer electronics, jumped 7.4 percent to 2,215 yen. Merrill Lynch & Co. upgraded the stock to “buy” from “neutral,” saying the company’s reorganization would boost earnings.