Asian stocks advance in hope of China stimulus

Sydney Asian stocks rose amid speculation China will do more to boost growth in the world's second-largest economy, tempering concern about Europe's debt crisis. Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. led Chinese carmakers higher after BNP Paribas SA said they may benefit from government subsidies. Komatsu Ltd., a Japanese construction machinery maker that gets 14 per cent of sales from China, gained 3.2 per cent. Shui On Land Ltd. jumped 7.3 per cent in Hong Kong after the developer controlled by billionaire Vincent Lo said it plans to spin off its Xintiandi entertainment complex unit. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 1.3 per cent to 113.78 as of 5.34pm in Tokyo, after earlier falling as much as 0.6 per cent. About seven stocks climbed for every two that slipped. Chinese "leaders are already aware of the slowdown and we're going to see measures coming through in the next few weeks," Raymond Chan, chief Asia-Pacific investment officer at Allianz Global Investors, told Bloomberg Television. "There's speculation that there will be measures coming out for the auto market. Sooner or later, there will be interest-rate cuts." Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 0.7 per cent, reversing earlier losses after a report the nation's jobless rate last month unexpectedly rose for the first time since January. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 1.1 per cent. South Korea's Kospi Index advanced 1.4 per cent after the market reopened from a holiday. Shares rose after China's finance ministry said it will allocate as much as 2 billion yuan (Dh1.16 billion) every year to support purchases of energy-efficient cars.