TOKYO: Asian stocks rose for a second day, tracking a gain in U.S. equities as Apple Inc. jumped after Berkshire Hathaway Inc. disclosed a stake in the iPhone maker and oil companies climbed on higher crude prices.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 0.2 percent to 126.63 as of 9:01 a.m. in Tokyo. The pickup in commodity prices is helping a recovery in global equities, after weaker economic data and disappointing company earnings wiped out almost $2 trillion of value in the first two weeks of May. Oil traded near a six-month high after advancing 3.3 percent on Monday.
“Markets seem to be in a relatively sweet spot with a steadily stronger U.S. dollar and resilient commodities prices,” Angus Nicholson, a Melbourne-based market analyst at IG Ltd., said by e-mail. “Many investors have been predicting a pullback in markets, but despite all the negativity, markets have continued to grind higher.”
Japan’s Topix index rose 0.7 percent as the yen traded near a one-week low. South Korea’s Kospi index added 0.2 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index increased 0.2 percent. New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 Index rallied 0.8 percent. Markets in China and Hong Kong have yet to start trading.
Futures on the China A50 Index gained 0.3 percent in their most recent trading, while those on the Hang Seng Index climbed 0.4 percent.
A sudden plunge by Chinese stocks in Hong Kong on Monday had traders scrambling to find a trigger for the slump that coincided with a surge in futures volumes. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index tracking some of the nation’s biggest companies tumbled from an advance of 1 percent to a loss of 1.5 percent in about two minutes, before rebounding back to a gain. The gauge ended 0.1 percent higher. Shares in the mainland didn’t replicate the move, with the Shanghai Composite Index rising 0.8 percent after earlier fluctuating near a two-month low.
Futures on the S&P 500 Index slipped 0.1 percent. The U.S. equity benchmark index rose 1 percent on Monday as energy shares advanced. Apple jumped the most since March after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway disclosed a stake in the world’s most valuable company.
West Texas Intermediate crude gained as much as 0.4 percent in early Tuesday trading after surging 3.3 percent on Monday. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said the market moved into a deficit earlier than expected following supply disruptions in Nigeria and an increase in demand.
