Asian shares rise on Ukraine as Rouble drops with rubber

Asian stocks (SHCOMP) climbed with Russian shares as the rouble dropped on easing tension in Ukraine. Credit risk in Japan fell and rubber slid to the lowest since 2009.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 0.3 percent to 139.09 at 4:07 p.m. in

Tokyo as Japan’s Topix closed 0.6 percent higher. Russia’s Micex Index (INDEXCF) increased 2.2 percent while South Korea’s Kospi Index rose 0.6 percent. The ruble dropped 0.2 percent against the dollar after strengthening the most this month yesterday. Rubber futures lost 4 percent. Financial markets in the U.S., U.K., Germany, Hong Kong,

Singapore, Australia and New Zealand are among those that are closed for a holiday.Four-way talks on the crisis in Ukraine ended with an accord aimed at taking the first steps toward de-escalating the conflict after President Vladimir Putin said he hopes he won’t have to send in troops.

New home prices in China rose in 56 of 70 cities last month, statistics bureau data showed.

U.S. jobless claims increased less than forecast yesterday, signaling the world’s largest economy is holding up and adding tospeculation the Federal Reserve will pare stimulus this year.

“A calming of the situation in the Ukraine is positive for stocks,” said

Juichi Wako, a Tokyo-based equity strategist at Nomura Holdings Inc., the nation’s biggest brokerage. “With Ukraine concerns receding, the dollargets bought and the yen weakens, so of course that’s positive for today.”

The Topix capped a 3.5 percent increase this week in Tokyo. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 0.3 percent to 1,012.63 for a third day of gains.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed yesterday in New York for the biggest weekly advance since July as earnings from General Electric Co. and Morgan Stanley beat estimates.

Japan Shares Toyota Motor Corp. contributed to the Topix’s advance as the world’s biggest carmaker added 0.9 percent.

Casio Computer Co. jumped 5 percent on a report the consumer-electronics maker’s president said the company aims to achieve record operating profit.

Volume on the index was 43 percent lower than the 30-day intraday average.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (2330), the world’s largest contract manufacturer of chips, added 2.5 percent in Taipei after the company forecast record sales surpassing analyst estimates.

SK Hynix Inc., the world’s second-largest maker of memory chips, added 3 percent as South Korea’s Kospi had its first increase in six days.

The agreement in Geneva was announced after talks between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, his Ukrainian counterpart, Andriy Deshchytsia,

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Catherine Ashton, the European

Union’s foreign-policy chief, lasted more than six hours.

Kerry said Russia, which the U.S. and its European allies accuse of stoking the conflict, must start implementing the deal within days.Ruble Drops

The Micex climbed to 1,358.91 in Moscow, the biggest intraday gain since March 26.

The ruble slid to 35.5445 against the dollar. The yen traded at 102.40 per dollar after falling 0.2 percent yesterday, poised for a 0.8 percent loss this week.

-Bloomberg