Asian Stocks Surge on Growth Optimism; Nissan Motor Advances
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aP.zlbaM6jaQ&refer=home
By Patrick Rial and Masaki Kondo
April 2 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks surged, giving the regional benchmark index
its biggest gain this year, after U.S. car sales beat estimates and U.S.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said global economies are showing
“traction” amid widening stimulus efforts.
Nissan Motor Co., which gets 41 percent of its sales in North America, soared
15 percent after an industry report showed March U.S. car sales rebounded from
a 27-year low.
Improving Economy?
Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 1.5 percent in trading today.
The gauge advanced 1.7 percent yesterday as the Institute for Supply Management
said its factory index increased to 36.3 last month, a third-consecutive
advance. U.S. pending home resales rose 2.1 percent in February, exceeding
economists’ forecasts.
New cars sold in March at an annual rate of 9.86 million units, according to
Autodata Corp., a million more than the average estimate of analysts in a
Bloomberg survey.
