Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average declined 0.6
Tokyo Electron declined 2.1 percent to 4,410 yen. Elpida Memory Inc., the world’s third-largest maker of computer memory, slumped 3.8 percent to 1,048 yen. Dainippon Screen Manufacturing Co., a chip equipment maker, dropped 2.8 percent to 654 yen in Tokyo.
Toyota rose 2.2 percent to 3,315 yen, even as it denied media reports in Japan that its auto production will recover to 90 percent in June, and repeated that output will be restored to 70 percent next month.
Honda Motor Co. gained 1.3 percent to 3,065 yen. Nissan Motor Co. rose 1.3 percent to 791 yen. Deutsche Bank AG raised its profit estimates for both Honda and Nissan, citing higher car sales.
European stocks climbed the most in two weeks as concern eased that the region’s debt crisis will spread after Jean-Claude Juncker said an assessment on new measures for Greece may come as soon as next week.
Banks had the best performance among 19 industry groups in the Stoxx Europe 600 Index, with Intesa Sanpaolo SpA (ISP) rising 5.1 percent. EON AG and RWE AG (RWE), Germany’s biggest utilities, advanced after the Financial Times Deutschland reported the government may scrap a tax on nuclear reactors. Cable & Wireless Communications Plc (CWC) plunged 12 percent after saying it’s cautious on the outlook for its Caribbean operations.
U.S. stocks advanced, with benchmark indexes snapping a three-day decline, as commodity shares rallied on expectations for higher raw material prices.
Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB) and Halliburton Co. (HAL) gained at least 1.2 percent as oil climbed following a report showing that U.S. distillate fuel supplies dropped to a two-year low. Freeport- McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. advanced 2.4 percent as copper rose after Deutsche Bank AG said prices are likely to rebound. Fifth Third Bancorp and BB&T Corp. (BBT) increased more than 1.4 percent after Fitch Ratings said it probably won’t downgrade German banks because of their holdings of Greek debt.
The S&P 500 fell 3.5 percent from an almost three-year high on April 29 through yesterday on concern about Europe’s debt crisis and weaker-than-forecast economic data. Indexes of commodity producers led the declines during that period, slumping at least 6.3 percent. Still, the benchmark gauge rose 4.7 percent since the end of 2010 through yesterday on government stimulus measures and higher-than-forecast profits.
Gauges of energy and raw material shares rose at least 1.3 percent today, the two biggest gains in the S&P 500 within 10 industries. The Thomson Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index of 19 raw materials rallied 1.5 percent. Oil rose above $101 a barrel in New York. Copper gained the most in two months as Deutsche Bank said prices are likely to rebound, following similar comments from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Schlumberger, the world’s largest oilfield services provider, added 1.2 percent to $84.24. Halliburton rose 4 percent to $49.40 after Morgan Stanley raised its recommendation for the world’s second-largest oilfield services provider to “overweight” from “equal-weight.” Freeport, the largest publicly traded copper producer, gained 2.4 percent to $50.
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