Asian stocks rose, driving a regional benchmark index to a 2 1/2-year high, as US earnings beat analyst estimates and amid speculation that China's steps to slow inflation won't curb its economic expansion.The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 0.9 per cent to 140.21 as of 1:32 p.m. in Tokyo after Apple and International Business Machines Corp. reported earnings that exceeded analysts' estimates, and as speculation mounted that China will tomorrow report gross domestic product growth of more than 9 per cent. Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 0.3 per cent.South Korea's Kospi Index climbed 0.8 per cent, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index increased 0.7 per cent, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added 0.8 per cent.Futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index were little changed today.
