Asian Stocks Snap Five-Day Plunge After Global Rate Reductions

Asian stocks gained after four of the region's central banks cut interest rates, joining a global effort to limit the economic impact of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. U.S. futures rose. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. surged 6.1 percent in Hong Kong and LG Electronics Inc., climbed 4.9 percent in Seoul after China and South Korea lowered borrowing costs and corporate bond risk fell. Newcrest Mining Ltd. and Lihir Gold Ltd., Australia's largest publicly traded gold-mining companies, jumped more than 10 percent after the price of the metal climbed.