Asian Stocks Rise; Commodity Producers Gain

Asia stocks rose, driving the regional benchmark index to its best performance in a week, as raw material producers increased after oil and copper prices rallied.

Mitsubishi Corp. (8058), the Japanese trading company that gets about 40 percent of sales from commodities, gained 0.9 percent in Tokyo. Rio Tinto Group, the world’s second-biggest mining company by sales, climbed 1.8 percent. Bigger rival BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP) advanced 1.8 percent after Deutsche Bank AG upgraded basic resources to “overweight” and named BHP among its top picks. Canon Inc. (7751), the world’s largest camera maker, jumped 5.1 percent on its plan to buy back shares.

“Rising commodities reduce concern that the stock market driven by liquidity will falter,” said Mitsushige Akino, who oversees about $600 million in Tokyo at Ichiyoshi Investment Management Co. “However, with increasing economic reports showing deterioration in the U.S., anxiety the economy will slow down will likely limit gains in stocks.”

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.8 percent to 132.08, the most since May 18 and heading for its highest close since May 20, as of 9:29 a.m. in Tokyo. About seven stocks gained for each that fell on gauge, which last week slid for a third straight week as Greece’s debt crisis intensified, Japan’s economy contracted, and disappointing U.S. economic data fueled concern about the global recovery.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 (NKY) Stock Average advanced 1.1 percent and South Korea’s Kospi Index climbed 1.6 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index fell gained 1.1 percent.