Stocks: Thursday’s review

Asian stocks rose for a sixth day as European leaders edged closer to a plan for taming the debt crisis and the U.S. Federal Reserve said it discussed more asset purchases, reducing concern about the global economy.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 1.3 percent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 1 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index also added 1 percent as a report showed the nation’s unemployment rate declined for the first time since March as employers added double the workers economists forecast. South Korea’s Kospi Index advanced 0.8 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 2.3 percent and the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.8 percent.

Financial stocks surged after European Commission President Jose Barroso called for a reinforcement of crisis-hit banks, the payout of a sixth loan to Greece and a faster start for a permanent rescue fund to master Europe’s debt woes. HSBC gained 3.3 percent to HK$64.65. Standard Chartered Plc, U.K.’s third-largest lender, climbed 4 percent to HK$176.60. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Japan’s biggest lender, advanced 2.1 percent to 340 yen.

Mining companies also climbed. BHP Billiton rose 1.5 percent to A$37.64 in Sydney. Rival Rio Tinto Group advanced 2.8 percent to A$69.34. Korea Zinc Co. gained 2.7 percent to 307,000 won in Seoul.

иsurged 4.5 percent to 163 yen in Tokyo. Construction-machinery maker Komatsu Ltd. climbed 4.4 percent to 1,770 yen and Fanuc Corp., a manufacturer of industrial robots, increased 3.4 percent to 11,970 after a report showed machine tool orders increased 20 percent in September from a year earlier.

Chinese automakers rose in Hong Kong after Citigroup Inc. analysts said China’s September car sales probably grew 9 percent from a year earlier. BYD Co., the automaker backed by billionaire investor Warren Buffett, jumped 14 percent to HK$14.98. Dongfeng Motor Group Co., which operates ventures with Nissan Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. in China, climbed 7.1 percent to HK$12.98.

European stocks fell from a two- month high as Chinese exports slowed and the European Central Bank warned imposing further losses on holders of Greek debt posed a risk to the euro area’s financial stability. European banks extended losses as the European Central Bank said financial institutions’ involvement in euro-area bailouts through enforced investor losses posed a risk to financial stability and would have “direct negative effects” on lenders. China’s export growth slowed to its weakest pace in seven months. Officials said that trade faces “severe challenges” as the yuan strengthens and confidence slides in developed nations. Exports climbed a less-than-forecast 17.1 percent in September from a year earlier, customs bureau data showed in Beijing today. The trade surplus of the world’s second-largest economy fell to $14.51 billion last month from $17.76 billion in August. Imports rose 20.9 percent, also less than forecast.

FTSE 100 5,403 -38.42 -0.71%, CAC 40  3,187 -42.82 -1.33%, DAX 5,915 -79.63 -1.33%

National benchmark indexes fell in 16 of the 18 western- European markets. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index slid 0.7 percent. France’s CAC 40 Index and Germany’s DAX Index both slipped 1.3 percent.

Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank International AG dropped 3.2 percent to 22.50 euros and Commerzbank AG, Germany’s second- biggest lender, slipped 4.8 percent to 1.76 euros. UniCredit SpA plunged 12 percent to 92.7 euro cents, its largest slide since March 2009.

Carrefour SA retreated 5.9 percent after saying its profit may drop as much as 20 percent this year. Roche Holding AG slid 4.5 percent after posting third-quarter revenue that missed analysts’ estimates. Alcatel-Lucent surged 5.3 percent on a report France’s biggest telecommunications equipment maker will sell its corporate call-center business.

Rolls-Royce Group Plc jumped 9.9 percent to 688 pence after the jet-engine maker agreed to sell its share in a venture making engines for the Airbus A320 aircraft. Rolls-Royce sold its 32.5 percent stake in International Aero Engines to Pratt & Whitney for $1.5 billion and payments for 15 years.

U.S. stocks fell amid lower earnings from JPMorgan Chase & Co. and concern equities rose too much on optimism about Europe’s debt crisis.

Dow 11,478.13 -40.72 -0.35%, Nasdaq 2,620.24 +15.51 +0.60%, S&P 500 1,203.66 -3.59 -0.30%

JPMorgan dropped 4.8 percent after reporting a 33 percent profit decline, excluding a $1.9 billion accounting benefit, as investment banking and trading income slumped. Bank of America Corp., the largest U.S. lender by assets, dropped 5.5 percent to $6.22. Citigroup Inc. declined 5.3 percent to $27.64.

Technology shares in the S&P 500 rose 1 percent. At 4:29 p.m., following the close of exchanges, Google Inc. added 5.4 percent and Nasdaq-100 Index futures climbed 1.3 percent after the world’s most-popular search engine beat profit estimates.

Yahoo added 1 percent to $15.93 during the regular trading session. KKR and Blackstone may become part of a consortium that would pool the financing needed for a bid, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the review is preliminary and the firms may decide not to make an offer.