BEIJING, March 7 -- Asian stocks yesterday snapped a four-day rout, stemming an equities slump that eroded more than 2.4 trillion U.S. dollars from the value of global markets.

    Toyota Motor Corp and BHP Billiton led gains by the region's biggest companies, Bloomberg News reported.

    "Stocks have fallen a bit too much recently," said Choi Min Jai, who helps manage about 1.4 billion U.S. dollars at KTB Asset Management Co in Seoul. "Once global markets stabilize, we may see markets go higher."

    Samsung Electronics Co and Hynix Semiconductor Inc climbed after a United States industry group said world-wide chip sales rose in January. Nikko Cordial Corp, Japan's third-largest brokerage, surged on speculation Citigroup Inc will acquire the company.

    The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index rose 1.8 percent to 140.70 at 4.40pm in Tokyo, the most since November 22 and its first gain since February 27, when China mainland shares plunged amid speculation the government would tighten investment controls.

    Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average jumped 1.2 percent to 16,844.50 after losing 3.3 percent on Monday when more than 166 billion U.S. dollars in market value was erased from Tokyo Stock Exchange's first section. The Topix index rose 1.8 percent. Sony Corp led gains after the yen slid against the greenback and the euro.

    Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 2.1 percent, rebounding from its biggest point loss in five years. HSBC Holdings Plc rose after reporting second-half profit fell less than analysts estimated.

    Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index jumped 2.1 percent, the biggest gain in four years.

    Other benchmarks rose except in New Zealand, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Thailand.

    The Standard & Poor's 500 Index extended last week's 4.4 percent slump amid a global selloff spurred by concern that stock prices had climbed too high during a four-year rally.

    (Source: Shanghai Daily)