Japanese stocks rose the most in two weeks, breaking a four-day
losing streak that erased almost a quarter of the Nikkei 225 Stock
Average's value and sent the gauge to a 26-year low.
Investors
snapped up shares trading at historic lows, with Nippon Steel Corp.,
Japan's biggest maker of the alloy, and Isuzu Motors Ltd. climbing at
least 20 percent after both stocks traded at less than 6 times trailing
earnings. Honda Motor Corp., which had plunged 26 percent in four days,
jumped 14 percent. Nidec Corp., the world's biggest maker of motors for
disk drives, rose 14 percent after profit jumped 37 percent in the
first half.
The Nikkei 225, which lost 23 percent in the previous
four days, gained 459.02, or 6.4 percent, to close at 7,621.92 in
Tokyo. The gauge dropped to the lowest since October 1982 yesterday and
fell as much as 2.4 percent today, sending it briefly below 7,000. The
broader Topix index added 37.57, or 5 percent, to 784.03. Both gauges
rose the most since Oct. 14.
Stocks also advanced as new
restrictions on short-selling boosted confidence share prices don't
have much room left to fall. The volume of trading on the main board of
the Tokyo exchange was the highest this year, excluding futures
settlement sessions where turnover picks up.
European
stocks rebounded from a five-day losing streak as the Dow Jones Stoxx
600 Index traded near the cheapest relative to earnings in more than
six years and BP Plc's profit topped analysts' estimates.
BP
rallied 5.4 percent after Europe's second-biggest oil company said
earnings rose 83 percent in the third quarter. SAS Group gained as
Citigroup Inc. recommended the stock, saying it is cheap. Volkswagen AG
surged as much as 93 percent to become the world's biggest company by
market value briefly. Societe Generale SA and ING Groep NV led
financial companies lower.
The Stoxx 600 advanced 2.3 percent to
199.44. The index is down 22 percent in October, headed for its biggest
monthly decline since the October 1987 crash.
The U.K.'s FTSE 100
added 1.9 percent as Aviva Plc gained. France's CAC 40 increased 1.6
percent. Germany's DAX surged 9.9 percent, buoyed by Volkswagen, which
accounts for 27 percent of the benchmark's weighting.
Stocks had earlier pared some gains after a report showed consumers in the U.S. were the most pessimistic ever in October.
U.S.
stocks rallied, following gains in Asian and European markets, as the
cheapest valuations in more than two decades lured investors back into
equities.
Alcoa Inc., the largest U.S. aluminum producer, jumped
as much as 6.2 percent after the shares slid to their lowest price- to
earnings ratio on record. Exxon Mobil Corp. advanced 5.6 percent and
AT&T Inc. rallied 4.2 percent after analysts advised buying more
stock in the companies. Morgan Stanley lost as much as 26 percent on
concern Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. needs more money to pay for
its stake in the bank.
The Standard & Poor's 500 Index added
18.69 points, or 2.2 percent, to 867.61 at 12:59 p.m. in New York. The
Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 226.04, or 2.8 percent, to
8,401.81. Hong Kong's benchmark index surged 14 percent, its best gain
in 11 years, while Germany's climbed 9.9 percent.
U.S. stock
indexes pared gains this morning after the Conference Board's index of
consumer confidence plunged more than forecast to a record low of 38.
General
Motors Corp. rose 8.4 percent to $5.91. Money may be available to U.S.
automakers from the federal bailout fund, White House spokeswoman Dana
Perino said. GM's Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner is pushing for
federal aid as the company seeks to merge with Chrysler LLC, people
close to the discussions said.
Valero Energy Corp. jumped 5.8
percent to $15.99. The largest U.S. refiner posted a smaller decline in
third-quarter earnings than analysts predicted after crude-oil costs
retreated from an all-time high, easing a squeeze on profit margins.
Morgan
Stanley tumbled 13 percent to $11.96 and slid as low as $10.15 after
shares of Mitsubishi UFJ, the Japanese bank investing $9 billion in the
New York-based firm, fell for a second day on concern a planned 990
billion yen ($10.45 billion) stock sale will dilute shareholders.
Whirlpool
Corp. tumbled 16 percent to $41.79 after saying it will cut 5,000 jobs
by the end of next year to reduce costs. The world's largest appliance
maker lowered its 2008 earnings-per- share forecast to $5.75 from $6.