June 18 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks rose for a third day, driving benchmarks in China, Hong Kong and South Korea to records, as prices of metals and crude oil advanced and the yen weakened against the dollar.
Rio Tinto Group climbed, becoming the first A$100 share on the Australian stock exchange. Toyota Motor Corp. gained on expectations a weaker yen will boost dollar-denominated sales. China's CSI 300 index surged 3.1 percent, having taken less than two weeks to rebound from a rout that erased more than $400 billion of market value.
``The commodities boom is a key theme for investors, based largely on the view that demand from China is going to continue to hold up,'' said Atul Lele, who helps manage about $380 million at White Funds Management in Sydney. ``Rio is playing a big role, given its size and the diversified nature of its businesses.''
The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index added 1.3 percent to 153.48 as of 7:08 p.m. in Tokyo, extending a two-day 1.4 percent rally. Measures in Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines and Pakistan also set new highs. Indexes rose around the region, except in India and Sri Lanka. Taiwan's market was closed for a holiday.
Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 1 percent to 18,149.52. Sony Corp. climbed as a report showed U.S. core inflation slowed, suggesting borrowing costs in the world's largest economy won't be raised.
Rio Tinto, the world's third-largest mining company, jumped 2.7 percent to A$99.99, after touching A$100 earlier. Its shares are the first to reach three figures since the nation's state- based stock exchanges merged in April 1987.
Reaching a Milestone
``It is fitting that a mining company was the first to reach the milestone given resources stocks' role in the Australian share market's rise in the past few years,'' said Lele of White Funds.
BHP Billiton Ltd., the world's No. 1 mining company, added 2 percent to A$34.68, a record. Jiangxi Copper Co., China's second- biggest producer of the metal, advanced 1.6 percent to HK$13.86 in Hong Kong.
A measure of six metals traded on the London Metal Exchange climbed 0.7 percent on June 15. Copper added 0.6 percent, nickel rose 1 percent and zinc gained 0.7 percent. Crude oil futures gained 0.5 percent to $68 a barrel in New York, a nine-month high. Prices were recently at $68.08.
Support for Markets
Woodside Petroleum Ltd., Australia's No. 2 oil producer, climbed 2.1 percent to A$45.95. PetroChina Co., the country's biggest oil explorer, gained 3.3 percent to HK$11.16. Cnooc Ltd., China's largest offshore oil explorer, jumped 5.1 percent to HK$8.89.
``Prices of metals and oil are all being pushed higher by demand for those commodities in China and India, where economic growth is strong,'' said Elan Cohen, a Singapore-based portfolio manager at JPMorgan Private Bank, which has $350 billion in assets. ``That growth, along with the robust market in the U.S., is a factor that will support Asian equity markets.''
Toyota, Japan's largest automaker, gained 0.5 percent to 7,730 yen. It generated more than a third of its fiscal 2006 revenue in North America. Canon Inc., the world's largest digital-camera maker, rose 2.1 percent to 7,330 yen. The company made 75 percent of its total sales outside Japan last year.
The yen fell 1.4 percent to 123.44 per dollar last week, touching 123.67, the lowest since December 2002. Japan's currency dropped 1.52 percent to 165.26 per euro, touching 165.27, the all-time low since the currency debuted in 1999.
A weaker yen inflates the value of Japanese exporters' overseas sales and makes their products more competitive.
Revenue Boost
U.S. stocks gained on June 15, helping the Standard & Poor's 500 Index to its biggest weekly advance since April. So-called core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy, rose 0.1 percent in May after increasing 0.2 percent the previous month, damping speculation interest rates will be raised to tame inflation in the region's No. 1 export market.
``Automaker and technology shares will be leading gainers for the time being since their revenues are boosted by the weak yen,'' said Masaru Hamasaki, senior strategist at Toyota Asset Management Co. which oversees $3.3 billion in Tokyo. ``Investors shifted their focus to the strength of the U.S. economy and price stability.''
Samsung Electronics Co., Asia's biggest maker of chips and mobile phones, added 2.6 percent to 589,000 won. The company accounted for 16 percent of South Korean exports last year. Sony, the maker of the Vaio computer and the PlayStation game console, climbed 0.8 percent to 6,710 yen. Li & Fung Ltd., which sells goods to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp., surged 6.9 percent to HK$27.90.
Li & Fung, Hong Kong
Li & Fung also rose after saying it will pay $120 million to acquire a health, beauty and cosmetics supplier. The company said it will acquire CGroup, a Hong Kong-based health, beauty and cosmetics supplier.
Also in Hong Kong, China Mobile Ltd., the world's largest mobile-phone operator by users, climbed 6 percent to HK$80.35, its highest on record.
The company may raise up to 80 billion yuan ($10.5 billion) selling yuan-denominated shares in Shanghai as early as next month, the China Business Journal said on June 16, citing an unidentified person familiar with the situation.
Rainie Lei, a spokeswoman for China Mobile, said the company has ``no new update on the listing plans'' and that the report is ``speculative.''
Shares rose in China after data last week that showed accelerating inflation didn't spur the central bank to raise interest rates. Gains by the CSI 300 have helped the index recoup losses of as much as 22 percent in a rout that began on May 30.
China's Recovery
China's inflation accelerated last month at the fastest pace in more than two years and fixed-asset investment surged in the first five months, the statistics bureau said last week, fueling speculation the central bank would raise interest rates to cool the economy. Higher borrowing costs may dent bank lending.
``Investors keep buying shares as a rumored clampdown involving measures such as interest-rate increases failed to materialize,'' said Chen Shide, who manages the equivalent of $212 million at GF Fund Management Co. in Guangzhou. ``It can't be ruled out that the government will still take action.''
China Merchants Bank Co., which has the biggest weighting in the CSI 300, jumped 8 percent to 23.98 yuan. China Vanke Co., the largest listed developer, climbed 4.6 percent to 19.97 yuan.
Auckland International Airport Ltd. surged 13 percent to NZ$3.20, the biggest percentage advance on the MSCI World index.
Shares of New Zealand's busiest airport rose after the company said it is in talks with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and other parties. The fund made an offer of NZ$3.10 a share for Auckland Airport, valuing the company at NZ$3.79 billion ($2.8 billion).
Singapore Exchange Ltd. gained after Tokyo Stock Exchange, the operator of the world's second-biggest equities market, said on June 15 it bought a 4.99 percent stake in the Singapore bourse for 37.4 billion yen ($303 million) to enhance an alliance. The shares added 0.5 percent to a record S$10.
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