Asian Stocks Climb to Two-Month High; Macquarie, Mizuho Gain

Sept. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks rose to a two-month high as speculation heightened that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut interest rates and Warren Buffett will buy a stake in Bear Stearns Cos.

Macquarie Bank Ltd. and Mizuho Financial Group Inc. climbed after a bigger-than-forecast drop in U.S. durable goods orders boosted expectations borrowing costs will fall. A reduction may help contain credit-market turmoil that contributed to the failure of two of Bear Stearns' hedge funds.

``The chance of another rate cut in the U.S. helps banks, it's like petrol to a fire,'' said Hans Kunnen, who helped manage the equivalent of $117 billion at Colonial First State Global Asset Management in Sydney. ``Lower interest rates mean more people will be out to borrow money.''

Kookmin Bank climbed in South Korea after a report showed consumers are the most upbeat they've been in five years.

The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index added 1.2 percent to 160.47 as of 10:27 a.m. in Tokyo, poised for the highest close since July 25. All 10 of the benchmark's industry groups advanced.

Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 1.2 percent to 16,638.32, set for its first three-day rally since the period ended Aug. 9. Toyota Motor Corp. and Sony Corp. gained after the yen weakened against the dollar, increasing the value of Japanese exporters' U.S. sales.

South Korea's Kospi index rose 1.3 percent following a three-day holiday, the region's best performance. Benchmarks gained in other markets open for trading.

Banks Rally

U.S. stocks rose yesterday by the most in a week after General Motors Corp. agreed a contract with a labor union that will get rid of $50 billion of health-care costs. Demand for U.S.-made durable goods fell 4.9 percent in August, the most in seven months. Orders were forecast to fall 4 percent, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

Macquarie Bank, Australia's No. 1 securities firm, gained 2.7 percent to A$82.46. Mizuho, Japan's second-largest lender, added 3.2 percent to 648,000 yen. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., the third biggest, jumped 5 percent to 875,000 yen.

Futures contracts yesterday suggested an 86 percent chance the Fed will lower its target overnight lending rate between banks by a quarter-percentage point to 4.50 percent at its next meeting Oct. 31, compared with 72 percent a week ago.

Kookmin Climbs

Bear Stearns shares surged 7.7 percent yesterday after the New York Times reported that the securities firm is in ``serious talks with several outside investors'' including Buffett to sell as much as 20 percent of the firm. A Bear Stearns spokesperson declined to comment. Jackie Wilson, a spokeswoman for Buffett, said nobody was available to comment.

National Australia Bank Ltd., the country's largest lender, rose 1.9 percent to A$39.75. Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., the third biggest, gained 1.5 percent to A$29.36.

Kookmin Bank, South Korea's largest lender, gained 1.5 percent to 74,800 won. Shinhan Financial Group Co., South Korea's second-largest financial service company, advanced 2.8 percent to 59,300 won.

The consumer sentiment index increased to 112 in the third quarter from 108 in the previous three months, the Bank of Korea said in a report released in Seoul today. A reading higher than 100 indicates optimists outnumber pessimists.

Toyota, Yen

Toyota, Japan's largest automaker, added 1.4 percent to 6,700 yen. The company's annual operating profit falls about 35 billion yen for every 1 yen that Japan's currency gains against the dollar, according to Koji Endo, a senior analyst at Credit Suisse Group in Tokyo.

The yen recently traded at 115.43 against the dollar, down from 114.76 at yesterday's equity market close. A stronger dollar means Japanese exporters get more for their overseas sales when converted to yen while their products become more competitive.

``The weaker yen is a positive support to the market,'' said Juichi Wako, a strategist at Nomura Securities Co. in Tokyo.

Sony, the maker of the Vaio computer and the PlayStation game console, added 1.7 percent to 5,520 yen. Nintendo Co., whose Wii game console has outsold rivals in the U.S. this year, climbed 0.8 percent to 60,300 yen