Asian stocks rose, extending the longest rally in the benchmark index this year, as China?s industrial production and retail sales beat estimates, adding to signs the world?s second-largest economy is rebounding.

Jiangxi Copper Co. (358), China?s biggest producer of the metal, gained 3 percent in Hong Kong. Komatsu (6301) Ltd., Japan?s No. 1 construction-equipment maker, climbed 6.4 percent after the Nikkei newspaper reported operating profit from its parts business will climb to a record this year. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. jumped 6 percent in Tokyo, pacing gains among shipping companies after a gauge of cargo rates posted its largest advance in more than four years.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 1.2 percent to 137.2 as of 7:28 p.m. in Tokyo, capping a ninth day of gains and the highest close since July 23. The gauge last week posted its biggest weekly advance since April on signs the global economy is recovering. Reports today showed factory output in China accelerated by 10.4 percent in August from a year earlier, while retail sales increased 13.4 percent, exceeding economist estimates.

?The market should be pretty positive that industrial production in China is picking up,? Evan Lucas, a Melbourne-based strategist at IG Markets, said in a telephone interview. ?Positive indicators from China coupled with what?s going on in Japan really put Asia back on track, making the region a very good investment case.?

Bull Market

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (HSCEI) of mainland companies traded in Hong Kong increased 1.6 percent, extending gains from a June 25 low to 21 percent and entering what some investors consider a bull market. The benchmark Hang Seng Index climbed 1 percent, while China?s Shanghai Composite Index gained 1.2 percent.

Japan?s Topix index rose 1.5 percent. South Korea?s Kospi index climbed 1 percent. Australia?s S& P/ASX 200 Index gained 0.4 percent and New Zealand?s NZX 50 Index added 0.3 percent. Singapore?s Straits Times Index advanced 1.2 percent, while Taiwan?s Taiex index increased 0.2 percent. India?s S& P BSE Sensex Index jumped 3.8 percent as the rupee strengthened.

The Topix surged 38 percent this year, with Japanese equities performing the best among developed markets tracked by Bloomberg. Shares have jumped amid optimism Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the Bank of Japan can lead the country out of deflation with stimulus and reforms.

Futures on the Standard & Poor?s 500 Index added 0.5 percent today. The equity gauge advanced 1 percent yesterday, the most in a week, amid almost $15 billion in takeovers involving U.S. companies.

Fed Stimulus

The Federal Reserve has said any reduction in stimulus will be tied to a sustained recovery in U.S. employment. The central bank will decide to cut its $85 billion in monthly bond purchases this month, according to 65 percent of economists surveyed by Bloomberg from Aug. 9-13. The Federal Open Market Committee holds a two-day meeting on Sept. 17-18.

?Fed tapering remains a concern that could push market volatility higher,? said IG Markets? Lucas.

Miners advanced amid optimism economic growth in China, the world?s biggest user of copper, is stabilizing. Jiangxi Copper climbed 3 percent to HK$16.32 in Hong Kong. Rio Tinto Group (RIO), the world?s second-largest mining company, gained 1.5 percent to A$62.88 in Sydney.

Komatsu jumped 6.4 percent to 2,428 yen in Tokyo, the most since September 2012, after the Nikkei newspaper reported its parts business will generate record operating profit this year. The company said on July 29 overall operating profit will increase 44 percent from a year earlier to 305 billion yen ($3.1 billion).

Shipping Rally

Shipping companies advanced after the Baltic Dry Index (BDIY), which measures the cost of shipping commodities from copper to corn, climbed 9.3 percent in London yesterday, the most since June 2009.

Mitsui O.S.K Lines (9104), the world?s largest merchant ship operator, increased 6 percent to 458 yen in Tokyo. China Shipping Development Co., which transports oil and coal, advanced 3.1 percent to HK$4.70 in Hong Kong.

Yakult Honsha Co. (2267) surged 7.2 percent to 4,625 yen in Tokyo after the company said it plans to sell Yakult-branded fermented milk drinks at a higher price following a product revamp.

Wockhardt Ltd. jumped 20 percent to 615.8 rupees in Mumbai, the most on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index. Avanir Pharmaceuticals Inc. settled a patent litigation case against the Indian maker of insulin and hepatitis vaccines, according to the company.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index has climbed 6.1 percent so far this year. Shares on the Asia-Pacific gauge traded at 13.4 times estimated earnings, compared with 15.1 times for the S& P 500 Index and 14.1 for the Stoxx Europe 600 Index, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Asian stock-index futures rose, indicating the benchmark gauge may extend its longest rally this year, before Chinese factory output and retail sales data. The yen held declines and crude oil slipped a second day.

Nikkei 225 Stock Average futures added 0.4 percent by 3 a.m. in Osaka and rose 3.4 percent in Chicago, while contracts on Australian shares climbed 0.2 percent. Standard & Poor?s 500 Index (SPX) futures gained 0.1 percent after the gauge increased 1 percent in New York, rallying a fifth day as Treasuries rose. The yen was little changed at 99.66 per dollar after slipping 0.5 percent yesterday. West Texas Intermediate oil slid 1.1 percent and copper futures rose 0.2 percent.

Chinese industrial production and retail sales reports today will probably add to signs the world?s second-largest economy is rebounding, with factory output projected to have grown at the fastest pace this year in August, according to a Bloomberg survey. The Bank of Japan also issues minutes of last month?s meeting. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed an eighth day yesterday to an almost four-week high. Crude fell as the U.S. strived to get Congressional approval for a Syria strike.

?Risk appetite improved,? Imre Speizer, a markets strategist in Auckland at Westpac Banking Corp., wrote in an e-mail to clients today. ?Chinese data will probably be more important for markets today.?

Futures on the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong climbed 0.4 percent in their most recent trading session, while contracts on the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index added 0.6 percent. The Bloomberg China-US Equity Index of the most-traded Chinese stocks in New York rose a fifth trading day, increasing 1.8 percent to the highest level since Jan. 22.

Chinese Outlook

Factory output in China expanded 9.9 percent from a year earlier in August, after rising 9.7 percent in July, according to the median of 45 estimates in a Bloomberg survey. Retail sales probably rose 13.3 percent on an annual basis, from 13.2 percent the previous month, a separate poll before today?s data shows. A report Sept. 8 fueled gains in global stocks and emerging-market currencies after it showed Chinese exports rose more than economists expected last month.

The yen was also steady against the euro, losing 0.1 percent to 132.08 per euro, after depreciating 1 percent yesterday. Japan?s currency was the only decliner among 16 major peers tracked by Bloomberg against the greenback yesterday after Tokyo won the right to host the 2020 Olympics. The Bloomberg U.S. Dollar Index fell 0.4 percent in New York.

Australia?s dollar was little changed at 92.27 U.S. cents before National Australia Bank Ltd.?s August business confidence survey, while New Zealand?s currency traded steady at 80.17 cents ahead of card spending data for last month.

U.S. Movers

The S& P 500 climbed the most in five weeks yesterday amid almost $15 billion in takeovers involving U.S. companies.

Technology, industrial and commodity stocks rallied at least 1.2 percent to lead gains in all 10 of the main industry groups in the gauge.

Molex Inc. (MOLX), a maker of electronic components for products such as the iPhone, jumped 32 percent to a seven-year high of $38.63 after agreeing to be acquired by Koch Industries Inc. in a $7.2 billion deal. Neiman Marcus Inc., the Dallas-based luxury chain, agreed to sell itself to Ares Management LLC and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board for $6 billion.

The U.S. market is poised for the busiest month of takeovers in more than six years. About $160 billion of mergers and acquisitions have been announced since the end of August, the most for a full month since July 2007, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Fed Tapering

Apple Inc. rose 1.6 percent before an event today where the company is expected to introduce new models of the iPhone. Delta Air Lines Inc. rallied 9.4 percent as S& P Dow Jones Indices said the world?s second-largest carrier will replace BMC Software Inc. in the S& P 500.

U.S. Treasuries advanced a second trading day before reports this week projected to show growth in import costs and producer prices slowed as the economy struggled to gain momentum. Ten-year Treasury yields lost three basis points, or 0.03 percentage point, to 2.91 percent, while 30-year notes yielded 3.85 percent, down one basis point in New York.

The Federal Open Market Committee is scheduled to meet Sept. 17-18. The U.S. central bank will cut Treasury purchases that have fueled global asset gains to $35 billion from $45 billion, while maintaining mortgage-bond buying at $40 billion, according to the median of 34 responses in a Bloomberg survey released Sept. 6.

Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank President Esther George, who has consistently dissented against additional stimulus, said Sept. 6 that it would be appropriate to reduce the pace of purchases to $70 billion a month.

Syria Campaign

WTI crude slipped to $108.27 a barrel today, following yesterday?s 0.9 percent slide in New York. Brent crude futures lost 2.1 percent to $113.72 a barrel yesterday.

U.S. President Barack Obama intensified his campaign to persuade the American public to back military action against Syria as President Bashar al-Assad threatened retaliation ?direct and indirect? should the U.S. attack.

Syria should give up its stockpile of chemical weapons if doing so would help avoid a U.S.-led strike, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after meeting his Syrian counterpart in Moscow. Syria ?welcomes the Russia proposal,? Walid al-Muallem, the nation?s foreign minister, told reporters.

Gold was little changed at $1,386.61 an ounce after falling 0.4 percent yesterday and 0.2 percent last week.

President Barack Obama said Russia?s bid to get Syria to surrender its chemical weapons is a ?potentially positive development,? while expressing skepticism about whether the embattled regime will follow through.

The president also said in an interview with NBC News that he?s isn?t confident that Congress will approve an authorization to use military force, and he hasn?t decided whether he would strike Syria even if lawmakers turn him down.

While vowing that the U.S. will pursue the initiative to see whether the Russian proposal is serious, Obama said it has to be taken ?with a grain of salt.?

?We have to be skeptical because this is not how we?ve seen them operate over the last couple of years,? Obama said in the interview, one of six he taped today as part of an administration-wide attempt to rally public and congressional support for a U.S. military attack against Syria.

He said Syria?s embrace of the Russian proposal stemmed from the ?credible threat? of a U.S. strike.

Obama?s interviews were a prelude to his address to the nation tomorrow night in which he?s seeking to make the case that U.S. national security is at stake if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad?s regime?s use of chemical weapons against civilians last month goes unanswered. His top aides and advisers have been briefing lawmakers and the president made personal appeals at a dinner with Republican senators last night and telephone calls over the weekend.

Russian Proposal

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov seized on an off-hand remark Secretary of State John Kerry made when answering a question at a briefing in London with U.K. Foreign Secretary William Hague.

Kerry, asked what could stop a U.S. military strike, said Assad ?could turn over every single bit of his chemical weapons to the international community in the next week.?

?But he isn?t about to do it, and it can?t be done, obviously,? he added.

Jen Psaki, a State Department spokeswoman, said Kerry wasn?t setting an ultimatum. She said the top U.S. diplomat was making a ?rhetorical argument about the impossibility and unlikelihood of Assad turning over chemical weapons he has denied he used.?

Lavrov said after meeting with his Syrian counterpart today in Moscow that Russia would ?immediately start working with Damascus? if international control of chemical weapons in Syria would forestall a military strike.

Syria Reaction

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem welcomed the opening and called it a constructive proposal to ?prevent American aggression against our people.?

The move to set a deadline for Syria gained momentum at the United Nations. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told reporters he was ?considering urging the Security Council to demand immediate transfer of Syria?s chemical weapons and chemical precursor stocks to places inside Syria where they can be safely destroyed.?

He said he would make the request only after UN inspectors issue their report on chemical-weapons use in Syria.

Assad, meanwhile said the U.S. should ?expect every action? in retaliation.

?There are going to be repercussions,? Assad said in an interview with Charlie Rose on CBS?s ?This Morning? program, an excerpt of which was aired this morning.