Asian Stocks Rise to a Record, Led by Cnooc; Hon Hai Advances

June 5 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks climbed, sending a regional benchmark to a record, after crude-oil prices traded near a two-week high and HSBC Holdings Plc raised its targets for Cnooc Ltd. and PetroChina Co.'s shares.

``Money is heading to commodity-related shares, pushing the level of the overall market higher,'' said Terunobu Kinoshita, who helps manage $785 million at Fund Creation Co. in Tokyo. ``Investors should anticipate further gains.''

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. led technology shares higher after brokerage and media reports prompted speculation that industry demand is picking up. China's CSI 300 Index gained 3.5 percent, rebounding from a 7.5 percent slump earlier. The measure had lost $402 billion of market value in the four days through yesterday since the government tripled a tax on stock trading.

The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index added 0.3 percent to 152.89 at 7:19 p.m. in Tokyo, set to surpass yesterday's record close of 152.43. Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 0.5 percent. Benchmarks in South Korea, Malaysia and Pakistan climbed to records.

MSCI's index of Asia-Pacific energy stocks rose 1.6 percent after oil futures in New York yesterday climbed 1.7 percent to $66.21, the highest since May 21. Prices were recently at $65.82 in after-hours trading.

Oil Producers

Cnooc, listed in Hong Kong, jumped 4.4 percent to HK$8.05, the highest since the stock first traded in February 2001. An estimate for the company's share price was raised to HK$9.50 from HK$8.50 at HSBC, according to a note from the bank.

PetroChina, the country's largest oil producer, rose 4.5 percent to HK$10.72. HSBC increased its stock estimate to HK$11.20 from HK$10. The two oil producers yesterday had share- price predictions raised at Citigroup Inc.

Inpex Holdings Inc., Japan's largest oil explorer, gained 4.6 percent to 1.15 million yen, its highest since April 2006. Woodside Petroleum Ltd., Australia's second-largest oil and gas company, rose 0.6 percent to A$44.22.

Taiwan's Hon Hai, the world's biggest contract electronics manufacturer, gained 3.3 percent to NT$254. Hon Hai is expected to start its first shipments of desktop computers to Dell Inc. from 2008, the Economic Daily News reported, citing unidentified industry sources.

Hynix, LG.Philips

``Hon Hai is the leader in electronics manufacturing, which will help the company attract orders and investors,'' said Barro Liao, who helps manage $2.7 billion at PCA Securities Investment Trust Co. in Taipei.

Hynix Semiconductor Inc., the world's second-largest computer-memory maker, advanced 1 percent to 30,800 won. Sentiment for chipmakers should improve on the recent rebound in prices of dynamic random access memory, or DRAM, wrote Lee Do Hoon, a Seoul-based analyst at Macquarie Securities Ltd.

LG.Philips LCD Co., the world's second-largest LCD maker, gained 4.2 percent to 38,450 won. Korea Investment & Securities Co. raised its six-month price estimate by 18 percent to 52,000 won, according to a report today. Profit will increase in the second half on a shortage of panels, wrote Jay Yoo, an analyst.

Nitto Denko Corp., the world's largest maker of optical film for liquid-crystal displays, advanced 3.7 percent to 6,430 yen. The company said yesterday after the market closed its monthly sales increased 10 percent from a year earlier, according to Daiki Takayama, an analyst at Goldman in Tokyo.

Datong Coal Industry Co., China's second-largest coal company by capacity, surged 10 percent to 22.75 yuan. Hong Yuan Securities Co., China's first publicly traded brokerage, jumped 10 percent to 31.45.

Market Support?

The CSI 300 has fallen 13 percent from its May 29 peak after the Chinese government raised a tax on securities trading to try to cool the market, having dropped as much as 22 percent. The index has doubled in the past six months.

``It is likely the government will do something to support the market,'' said Xie Yan, an analyst at Haitong Securities Co. in Shanghai. There are rumors that the government will announce it won't introduce a capital gains tax for three years, and will set up a market stabilization fund, Xie said.

Hong Kong's Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd., the city's biggest developer by market value, gained 0.9 percent to HK$103.50. Li Ka-shing, Asia's richest man, paid more than HK$805 million ($103 million) to raise his stake in the company to 39.63 percent from 39.29 percent, according to a filing to the exchange.

Hutchison Telecommunications International Ltd., a mobile- phone company controlled by Li, lost 41 percent to HK$10.06. The stock went ex-dividend today, meaning investors are no longer entitled to a HK$6.75 payout on June 29.