Asian stocks climbed, led by commodity companies amid a rally in iron ore prices and as technology firms advanced with Nasdaq 100 Index futures. Malaysia’s ringgit strengthened as U.S. crude oil headed for a sixth straight weekly increase.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 0.4 percent by 11:02 a.m. in Tokyo, rising a fourth day, as BHP Billiton Ltd. rose 2.6 percent and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. increased 3.4 percent. Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.3 percent following after-market gains in Google Inc. and Microsoft Corp. The ringgit climbed 0.7 percent against the dollar as U.S. crude headed for a 3.1 percent weekly climb.
Resources companies have helped lead gains in Asia this week after iron ore joined oil in rebounding from a more-than 50 percent slide in the past year. The Nasdaq Composite Index topped its dot-com era high Thursday as U.S. shares shrugged off mixed earnings and weak factory reports. Investors will weigh U.S. durable goods orders data Friday before next week’s Federal Reserve meeting.
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