Asian Stocks Climb, Led by Commodity Producers; BHP Advances

By Chua Kong Ho

July 31 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks rose for a second day, led by commodity producers after oil climbed more than $4 a barrel and prices of metals advanced.BHP Billiton Ltd., the world's largest mining company, and Woodside Petroleum Ltd., Australia's second-biggest oil producer, led gains. NTT DoCoMo Inc., Japan's No. 1 mobile-phone operator, advanced after saying first-quarter profit rose 41 percent.

NEC Electronics Corp., Japan's third-biggest chipmaker, climbed to a six-week high after swinging to a first-quarter operating profit.The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.6 percent to 132.88 as of 9:09 a.m. in Tokyo. About six stocks rose for each that declined. All 10 of the index's industry groups advanced, with raw-materials producers posting the biggest gain.Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 0.6 percent to 13,448.51.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 1.5 percent, and South Korea's Kospi Index gained 1.1 percent.In the U.S., the Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 1.7 percent, led by the biggest gain in energy shares in six years as oil prices increased and a private report showed an unexpected rise in jobs.Crude oil rose $4.58, or 3.8 percent, to $126.77 a barrel yesterday, the highest close since July 22, after a U.S. Energy Department report showed gasoline inventories declined for the first time in five weeks.A measure of six metals traded on the London Metal Exchange advanced 0.8 percent. Copper rose 1.3 percent and nickel 3.9 percent.To contact the reporter for this story: Chua Kong Ho in Shanghai at kchua6@bloomberg. net