Asian stocks rose yesterday, led by mining companies and auto makers, after metals prices gained and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc lifted its target on Honda Motor Co.
BHP Billiton Ltd, the world's largest mining company, advanced in Sydney as gold climbed for a second day.
Sino Gold Mining Ltd jumped after more than tripling output at a mine.
Honda gained the most in seven weeks.
Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd, which sells equipment that lights three of every five homes in India, rose after first-quarter profit beat analysts' estimates.
"Money is still going into commodities stocks on expectations the sector will have more stable earnings than other areas," Choi Min Jai, who helps manage about US$5 billion at KTB Asset Management Co in Seoul, told Bloomberg News.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 1.6 percent to 133.38 in Tokyo, with about two stocks gaining for each that declined.
Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 2.98 percent to 13,184.96, the most since May 29. Japanese stocks jumped as they resumed trading following a holiday on Monday, when Asia's benchmark index surged the most in four months.
The country's shares extended gains in the afternoon after trading in futures resumed following a fault.
India's Sensitive Index added 1.8 percent. Most other Asian benchmark indexes declined. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index slipped 0.1 percent, led by National Australia Bank Ltd, after Citigroup Inc cut its price target on the country's top five banks.
The MSCI index has lost 15 percent this year, part of a global slump in equities that has erased about US$13.3 trillion from an October record, as raw-material prices soared and the world's largest banks and securities firms reported more than US$447 billion of writedowns and credit losses.
Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures fell 0.8 percent after lower-than-estimated earnings at American Express Co and disappointing forecasts at Apple Inc and Texas Instruments Inc
BHP added 2.1 percent to A$39 (US$38.01), while rival Rio Tinto Group advanced 1.9 percent to A$120.70. Sino Gold, owner of China's second-largest gold mine, jumped 13 percent to A$6.17. The company raised output at its Jinfeng project to take advantage of higher prices.
