Asian stocks headed for the biggest three-day gain in seven weeks, as financial firms advanced amid optimism European policy makers will support the euro and after companies including Konica Minolta Holdings Inc. reported earnings.
Nikkei 225 8,635.44 +68.80 +0.80%
S&P/ASX 200 4,245.7 +35.93 +0.85%
Shanghai Composite 2,112.67 -16.09 -0.76%
Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Australia’s biggest lender by market value, gained 1.8 percent in Sydney after the cost to protect Asian bonds against default declined.
Konica Minolta, an imaging-equipment maker that gets 28 percent of its sales in Europe, jumped 5.8 percent in Tokyo after operating profit almost doubled from a year earlier.
Iluka Resources Ltd. surged 9.2 percent in Sydney after Morgan Stanley raised the mining company’s investment rating.