Asia Stocks Rise as Won Gains on North’s Rocket Failure

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-13/asia-stocks-rise-as-won-gains-on-north-s-rocket-failure.html

Asian stocks rose to a one-week high, the won strengthened and oil rose after South Korea and Japan said North Korea’s rocket launch may have failed.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index (MXAP) climbed 0.7 percent as of 9:25 a.m. in Tokyo, after gaining 0.8 percent yesterday. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures slipped 0.1 percent. The Kospi added 0.9 percent and the won strengthened against all 16 major peers. Oil rose 0.2 percent to $103.82 a barrel in New York.

North Korea launched a rocket in defiance of international pressure including U.S. warnings that doing so would nullify a food aid deal. China’s gross domestic product probably rose 8.4 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier after an 8.9 percent increase in the fourth quarter, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg before data today. Reports on Chinese industrial production and U.S. consumer confidence are also due today.