Asian stocks climb on better-than-expected rise in US consumer confidence

BANGKOK – BANGKOK (AP) — Asian stocks rose for a third straight session Monday as improved U.S. consumer confidence, a weaker Japanese yen and easing worries over Europe's debt crisis buoyed investor sentiment.

Shares were also headed higher in Europe and indications were for further gains on Wall Street. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up 19.93 points or 0.3 percent to 5,183.07. Germany's DAX rose 0.9 percent to 6,100.54, and France's CAC-40 was up 0.9 percent to 3,588.52. Dow Jones industrial average futures were up 62 points to 10,259. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 5.4 points to 1,089.20.

Oil rose above $75 a barrel, reflecting the upbeat market mood. The dollar strengthened against the yen, while the euro was up against the dollar, regaining some of the ground lost over the past week. The single currency hit a four-year low early last week amid fears the sovereign debt crisis in Europe could slow the global recovery.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average gained 174.60 points, or 1.8 percent, to close at 9,879.85. Investors chased gains in Japanese exporters on an easing yen as a weaker currency lifts the value of their repatriated profits and can make their goods more price competitive .

South Korea's Kospi index added 0.9 percent to 1,690.60. Australia's stock market was closed Monday for a public holiday.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged up 0.9 percent to 20,051.91. Shanghai's stock market was also closed Monday, while shares in Taiwan rose 1.2 percent.

Investors took heart from a private report Friday that showed U.S. consumer confidence in June climbed to its strongest level since January 2008. The Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index showed that confidence grew to 75.5 — coming in well ahead of forecasts.

That boosted confidence — as did robust Chinese exports and actions by Spain to cope with a heavy deficit, said Francis Lun, general manager at Fulbright Securities.

A delegation from the International Monetary Fund and the European Union was in Athens on Monday to review Greece's efforts to pull out of its debt crisis. The country is under strict supervision as part of the terms of a euro110 billion ($130 billion) package of rescue loans from the IMF and other EU countries using the euro.

"Europe is getting its house in order," Lun said. "We haven't seen a further deterioration there."

Recent gyrations in world markets have been largely due to the debt crisis in Europe, said Tey Tze Ming, market strategist for Saxo Capital Markets in Singapore.

"I think it will blow past. At the end of they day, U.S. growth is back on track. Asia is growing well; most Southeast Asian countries beat their growth estimates," he said.

In New York on Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 38.54 points, or 0.4 percent, to 10,211.07.

In currencies, the dollar rose to 91.87 yen in Tokyo on Monday from 91.77 yen in New York late Friday. The euro climbed to $1.2176 from $1.2125.

Benchmark crude for July delivery was up $1.33 to $75.11 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract dropped $1.70 to settle at $73.78 on Friday.