Stocks: Friday’s review

Asian stocks rose as declines in Japanese consumer prices added to the case for more monetary stimulus, boosting the Topix Index to cap its longest weekly winning streak in 40 years. Shares also gained after U.S. jobless claims fell to a five-year low.

Nikkei 225 10,926.65 +305.78 +2.88%

Hang Seng 23,580.43 -18.47 -0.08%

S&P/ASX 200 4,835.17 +24.95 +0.52%

Shanghai Composite 2,291.3 -11.29 -0.49%

Sony Corp. rose 8.5 percent in Tokyo on a report it may sell its lithium battery business.

Karoon Gas Australia Ltd. (KAR) gained 14 percent after the explorer said it discovered oil in Brazil.

Great Eagle Holdings Ltd. added 14 percent after the real estate company proposed a spin-off of its Hong Kong hotels.

Samsung Electronics Co. dropped 2.5 percent to its lowest close since Nov. 30 after warning the South Korean currency’s strength will hurt future earnings.

European stocks posted a weekly gain, rising to a 23-month high, as German investor confidence climbed to the highest in 2 1/2 years and U.S. lawmakers voted to temporarily suspend the government’s borrowing limit.

In Germany, investor confidence increased to a 2 1/2-year high in January. The ZEW Center for European Economic Research in Mannheim said its index of investor and analyst expectations climbed to 31.5 from 6.9 in December.

A measure of euro-area services and manufacturing output contracted at a slower pace this month than economists had estimated. A composite index based on a survey of purchasing managers in both industries rose to 48.2 from 47.2 in December, Markit Economics said. A reading below 50 indicates that activity shrank.

The European Central Bank said financial firms will repay more of its emergency three-year loans than forecast in another sign the region’s debt crisis is abating. Some 278 financial institutions will return 137.2 billion euros ($185 billion) on Jan. 30, the first opportunity for early repayment of the initial three-year loan, compared with the median projection of 84 billion euros in a survey of economists.

National benchmark indexes rose in 16 of the 18 western European markets this week. France’s CAC 40 added 1 percent and Germany’s DAX Index gained 2 percent. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index advanced 2.1 percent even as Britain’s economy shrank a more- than-forecast 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter.

Unilever advanced 4.3 percent in London trading to the highest level since at least 1988. The consumer-goods company reported revenue growth that beat estimates for a third straight quarter, led by gains in North and South America and demand for personal-care products.

EasyJet surged 8.4 percent, its biggest increase in nine weeks. The discount airline rose to its highest price since its initial public offering in November 2000 after saying quarterly sales increased 9.2 percent.

Rightmove Plc rallied 7.2 percent, its biggest weekly advance in 17 months, as analysts at Barclays Plc and UBS AG recommended the shares. The owner of the U.K.’s largest residential property website said the number of sellers coming to market this month is 22 percent higher than a year ago.

Monte Paschi, the world’s oldest bank, sank 12 percent for the biggest drop since July. Italy’s central bank said Jan. 23 that the lender hid documents from regulators on deals that may prompt the bank to restate profit.

Nokia Oyj slid 7 percent after the phone maker reported a seventh straight drop in quarterly revenue and said it will omit a dividend for the first time in at least 14 years.

U.S. stocks rose, giving the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index its longest winning streak since 2004, as Starbucks Corp. and Procter & Gamble Co. reported increased profit and German business confidence beat forecasts.

According to published data, the IFO index of business confidence in Germany in January was 104.2 points, beating the average analyst expectations at 103.0 points, which showed signs of recovery in growth in Europe's largest economy.

Also supported investor sentiment data from the ECB, which showed that 278 EU banks will return 137 160 000 000 euros, issued in the first three-year LTRO (it was expected that the refund amount will be 100 billion euros).

Today before the opening of the major U.S. stock exchanges its financial data for the last quarter were presented by Procter & Gamble (PG, +4,02%). The company's profit and revenue for the most recent reporting quarter was higher than average expectations of market participants, also were increased forecasts for 2013 fiscal year.

Were also strong quarterly figures from Starbucks - operator of the world's largest coffee-shop chain Starbucks increased its market capitalization by 4.10% after it reported an increase in net profit in the first fiscal quarter from $ 382.1 million a year earlier to $ 432.2 million with This comparable sales increased by 7%, exceeding the forecast at average 5.9% growth rate.

Negative impact on the index have reported falling sales of equipment from Caterpillar Inc. (CAT, -1.06%). According to its dealers, at the end of the world in December sales fell by 1%, while sales in the Asia-Pacific region fell by 7%.

The pressure on the index also had published data on home sales in the primary market in the U.S., which were worse than expected.

The fact that the indices are at multi-year highs (DOW and S & P), provokes some investors to take profits ahead of the weekend. It also limits the growth indices.

Most of the components of the index rose DOW (23 of 30). Leader was led Procter & Gamble Co. (PG, +4.02%). More than 1% by the end of trading the shares lost Caterpillar Inc. (CAT, -1.06%) and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT, -1.13%).

All sectors of the S & P rose, the maximum growth was consumer goods sector (+0.8%) and health (0.8%).

Favorable report on quarterly earnings and sales exceeded the expectations of the market, has led to higher prices for second-largest in the world oil services company Halliburton to 5.05%.

At the close:

S & P 500 1,502.96 +8.14 +0.54%

NASDAQ 3,149.71 +19.33 +0.62%