Asian Stocks Gain for First Time in Seven Days; ICBC Advances

Asian stocks rose for the first time in seven days, trimming a regional index's worst weekly loss in three months.

China Mobile Ltd., Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. and Cnooc Ltd. helped Hong Kong's index to its first gain in three days after billionaire Lee Shau-kee said he bought shares.

``The fundamentals of Hong Kong stocks are still very strong,'' said Khiem Do, who helps oversee $16 billion in equities at Baring Asset Management (Asia) Ltd.

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest liquid-crystal display maker, climbed to a one-week high in Seoul after saying it will invest 2.06 trillion won ($2.2 billion) to expand a factory to meet rising demand for LCDs.

Tokyo was closed for a holiday and the MSCI Asia Pacific excluding Japan Index climbed 0.2 percent to 506.92 at 4:57 p.m. in Hong Kong, after a six-day, 8.3 percent slump. The benchmark dropped 4.8 percent this week, its fourth straight loss and the worst weekly performance since the five days ended Aug. 17.

Hyundai Heavy Industries Ltd. dropped on concern demand for industrial goods is waning, sending South Korea's Kospi to its longest losing streak in three years. The index led losses in Asia this week, with Pakistan posting the only advance.

Regional indexes advanced elsewhere today except for Australia, Taiwan and Sri Lanka. China's CSI 300 Index climbed the most in a week, while the Sensitive Index snapped a six-day drop in India.

Japan's Topix index slid 0.1 percent yesterday, after having dropped 21 percent from its February peak, making the country the first of the world's 10 biggest stock markets to enter a bear market this year. U.S. trading had a break yesterday for the Thanksgiving holiday.
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