Asian stocks rallied, matching first weekly decline in three weeks as Apple iPhone 5 debut buoyed information technology sector. The energy sector also improved on the back of improved crude oil prices.
Samsung Electronics, the smartphone maker that makes 9% of its revenue thanks to Apple, gained 1,1% in Seoul. Inpex, Japan's leading energy research and exploration company, rallied from 7,2% losses over the past four days. GrainCorp rose 2% after JPMorgan Chase recommended buying shares in the Australian grain company. The MSCI Asia Pacific index rose 0,4% to 123.02 at 10:30 in Tokyo, paring the week's fall of 0,5 percent. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 0,4%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 0,3%, South Korea's Kospi was also up 0,3%, Taiwan's Taiex 0,5% and the Straits Singapore Times by 0,3 percent.
“When you have catalysts like the iPhone 5, the benefits are seen across the entire technology sector,” explains Timothy Moe, strategist at Goldman Sachs Group. “Our outlook is one of tempered optimism.”
THEMSCI Asia Pacific index it grew by 8,1% this year thanks to the intervention of the European, US and Japanese central banks which supported the growth. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index achieved a gain of 16% and the Stoxx Europe 600 by 12%.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-09-21/asian-stocks-rise-as-investors-back-economic-stimulus.html
