Japan & HK stocks jump, lead Asia on US bank hopes

March 13 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average leapt 5 percent and led Asian stocks higher on Friday, propelled by growing investor confidence that large U.S. banks will survive without government takeovers and may even profit. Citigroup Inc told Reuters the bank does not need any more emergency cash from Washington and expects to stay private, while Bank of America said it was profitable in January and February, easing fears about further instability in the banking industry and sparking a rush back into equities. For example, Wall Street chalked up its best three-day run since November after Standard & Poor's raised its outlook on General Electric Co's credit ratings to stable from negative, though it stripped the company of its "AAA" status. On the other hand, Berkshire Hathaway, billionaire investor Warren Buffet's conglomerate, lost its AAA rating and has a negative outlook from Fitch Ratings. Tokyo's Nikkei climbed 5.1 percent, and posted its biggest weekly gain of the year. Shares of Japan's top bank Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group climbed 5.8 percent.
Open 7,520.00, High 7,600.00, Low 7,510.00, Close 7,570.00
R4 7830.00, R3 7740.00, R2 7650.00, R1 7610.00
PP 7560.00
S1 7520.00, S2 7470.00, S3 7380.00, S4 7290.00

















The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan rose 3.2 percent, maintaining this week's up trend and hitting its highest level in about two weeks. The materials and financial sectors were the biggest boosts. Bank stocks were also the prime movers behind the 3.6 percent rise in Hong Kong's Hang Seng index HSBC rose 3.5 percent, as investors bought back the beaten down shares after an $18 billion rights issue. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said he had worries about the security of Chinese assets in the United States, comments that helped to push down U.S. March HSI futures +3.5% at 12,380, lagging cash market's 3.9% rally. Contract trading around 80-point discount to cash, suggesting players anticipating retreat with HSI putting up cumulative gains of nearly 10% Tuesday through today. Volume light at 47,105 lots, typical of Friday. March fair discount about 35-point discount to cash.
Open 12,340.00, High 12,603.00, Low 12,192.00, Close 12,598.00
R4 13697.33, R3 13286.33, R2 12875.34, R1 12736.67
PP 12464.33
S1 12325.67, S2 12053.33, S3 11642.33, S4 11231.33