* World stocks hit 4-mth high, Asia scales 6-mth peak
* Recovery hopes boost tech, exporters as restocking eyed
* Taiwan posts biggest 1-day gain in 19 years
* Reports of Chrysler bankruptcy have little impact
* Kiwi and NZ swap rates slide on RBNZ rate cut and remarks
By Eric Burroughs
HONG KONG, April 30 (Reuters) - World stocks scaled a
four-month peak on Thursday, powered by solid gains in Asia, as
investors took heart from signs of improvement in the U.S.
economy suggesting regional exporters may need to start
cranking up production.
European shares <> also rose in early trade, gaining
more than a percent.
A record drop in U.S. business inventories in the
first-quarter and surprisingly robust consumer spending were
widely seen by economists as positive pointing to a growth
pick-up in the world's largest economy in coming months.
The U.S. Federal Reserve tweaked its policy statement to
say that the economic outlook was improving while vowing to
keep rates at a historic low for a long stretch.
Safe-haven government bonds slid and higher-yielding
currencies tied to risk appetite such as the Australian dollar
jumped against the low-yielding yen.
Reports that talks between struggling U.S. automaker
Chrysler and the government had broken down and a bankruptcy
filing was imminent only briefly dented the jump in riskier
assets.
"People were so bearish that the burden of proof to
surprise people is relatively low. What you're getting is a
joyless rally," said Adrian Mowat, emerging market and Asia
equity strategist at JPMorgan Chase in Hong Kong.
"As earnings expectations are revised up with economic
activity, the market goes up with that," he said.
Data in Japan showing industrial production grew twice as
much as expected in March thanks to strong Chinese demand for
electronics is one of the main factors fuelling the rally in
Asian technology shares in the past two months.
The multiple signs of economic activity recovering around
the world has stoked expectations that Asian companies and
exporters may have cut inventories too quickly and may need to
switch gears and start restocking to meet demand.
Investors have also taken in stride the outbreak of swine
flu around the world that prompted the World Health
Organization on Wednesday to raise its threat level, saying the
world is on the brink of a pandemic. []
Taiwan's TAIEX index <> posted its biggest daily gain
in 19 years with a 6.7 percent rise on expectations for an
influx of Chinese investment after a series of cross-straits
talks have led to warmer ties between the two countries.
The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> soared more than 4 percent to a six-month high
and was up more than 13 percent on the year. The MSCI
all-countries world index <.MIWD00000PUS> was up about a
percent, mainly driven by the 3.9 percent jump in Japan <>
RESTOCKING TO HELP
The rise came as the forward 12-month price-to-earnings
ratio for the benchmark Asian index touched 13.99, the highest
since January 2008 and up sharply from a low of 7.87 touched in
November when the regional index hit a five-year low, according
to data from Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
But JPMorgan's Mowat said the forward P/Es tend to look
high at low points, and that by their study the Asia market has
only been cheaper 5 percent of the time going back to the early
1990s.
Tim Rocks, Asia equity strategist at Macquarie Securities
in Hong Kong, said in a report this week that the largest
inventory restocking cycle in living memory is under way,
Rocks said that historically Asia benefits from production
bounces tied to inventory restocking, with sectors like
technology benefitting the most.
Since the beginning of March when the MSCI Asia benchmark
bottomed out, the tech sector has been one of the biggest
winners with a surge of 41 percent.
South Korean industrial production also beat expectations
in March with a 4.8 percent increase, showing that factories
across the region are boosting activity. []
(for a graphic on Korean industrial production, click:
https://customers.reuters.com/d/graphics/GLB_MKT0409.jpg )
The solid gains in Asian equity markets outpaced the 2.2
percent rise in the U.S. S&P 500 index <.SPX> on Wednesday,
while S&P futures <SPc1> were up about a percent and pointing
to a positive start when U.S. markets open later in the day.
Thursday marks the last day of the week for many markets
around the world observing May 1 holidays. In Asia, markets in
South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore among others will
be closed on Friday.
Japanese markets will be open on Friday but then close
Monday through Wednesday for the rest of the country's Golden
Week break.
DOLLAR DOWN, AUSSIE JUMPS, KIWI RECOVERS
The dollar slid as investors shifted funds into
higher-yielding currencies and riskier assets. The dollar shed
0.75 percent to 84.010 <.DXY>, while the euro climbed 0.9
percent to 41.3370 <EUR=>.
Gold <XAU=> and oil prices <CLc1> both edged up.
The Australian dollar was up 1.6 percent at $0.7353
<AUD=D4>, adding to hefty gains scored the previous day as
market players chased the relatively higher-yielding currency
on the rally in equities.
Even the New Zealand dollar bounced back from an initial
slide after the country's central bank cut interest rates by
half a point to a record low of 2.5 percent, as expected, and
pledge to keep rates low for a while.
The kiwi was little changed at $0.5730 <NZD=D4> after
tumbling more than 1 percent earlier The rate cut and remarks
drove the two-year New Zealand swap rate <NZDIRS> down about 20
basis points.
(Editing by Mathew Veedon)
