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Asian stocks climbed for a second day as JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted ratings on Japan’s largest banks and as mining companies climbed on higher metal prices.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. and Mizuho Financial Group Inc. advanced more than 1.5 percent in Tokyo. Jiangxi Copper Co. surged 5.8 percent in Hong Kong as copper prices jumped after an earthquake in Chile cut supplies from the world’s top producer of the metal. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. rose 1.4 percent in Taipei on speculation China will agree to tax breaks for Taiwanese companies.

“Bank shares have lagged behind the market, so they should rise,” said Yoshihiro Ito, a senior strategist at Tokyo-based Okasan Asset Management Co., which oversees about $8.2 billion. “Risk money is flowing into commodities such as crude oil and nonferrous metals after the earthquake.”

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.8 percent to 119.03 as of 7:43 p.m. in Tokyo, with about four stocks advancing for each that declined. The gauge has lost 1.2 percent this year on speculation central banks will start withdrawing stimulus measures and that Greece will struggle to curb its deficit.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 0.5 percent to 10,172.06. The Taiex index advanced 1.9 percent in Taipei. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.2 percent.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 2.2 percent, the biggest advance among benchmark indexes in the Asia-Pacific region. Sinofert Holdings Ltd., China’s largest fertilizer importer, surged 7.6 percent to HK$4.68 in Hong Kong after Morgan Stanley raised its share-price forecast to HK$5.30 from HK$4.30.

Australia Stocks Gain

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed 1.1 percent after a report by Australian Industry Group and PricewaterhouseCoopers showed manufacturing expanded at the fastest pace since 2007. Toll Holdings Ltd., Australia’s largest trucking and freight company, climbed 6.6 percent to A$7.25. Brambles Ltd., the world’s biggest supplier of pallets, rose 2.5 percent to A$7.11.

Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index advanced 0.5 percent. The gauge rose 0.1 percent on Feb. 26 in New York after reports showed the U.S. economy expanded at a 5.9 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter, more than the government had reported in January. The Institute for Supply Management-Chicago Inc. said its business barometer climbed to 62.6 from 61.5 in January, a bigger increase than economists forecast and the highest level since 2005.

Financial companies gained the most among the 10 industry groups in the MSCI Asia Pacific Index. Japanese banks led the increase after JPMorgan upgraded the ratings for the country’s three biggest lenders to “overweight” from “neutral.”

Banks Lead Advance

Mitsubishi UFJ, Japan’s No. 1 lender by market value, rose 1.6 percent to 456 yen. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., the No. 2, gained 1.1 percent to 2,888 yen. Mizuho Financial Group Inc., the third-largest, advanced 2.9 percent to 177 yen.

Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., the nation’s biggest listed bank, leapt 5.1 percent to HK$5.77 and was the largest contributor to the MSCI index’s gain. China Construction Bank Corp., China’s second-biggest lender, climbed 4.1 percent to HK$6.11 in Hong Kong after Chairman Guo Shuqing said Feb. 26 that the lender doesn’t have plans to raise funds this year.

The MSCI Asia Pacific’s decline this year has cut the price of stocks in the gauge to 18.2 times estimated earnings on average from 22.7 times at the end of 2009. That compares with 14.2 times for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index in the U.S. and 12.3 times for the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index in Europe.

The Taiex climbed the most since Feb. 9. Taiwan and mainland China will hold a second round of talks for a trade agreement in the first half of March, said Ma Shaw-chang, deputy secretary general of the Straits Exchange Foundation, a semi- official agency that holds talks with the mainland.

Taiwan Index Climbs

Taiwan Semiconductor, the world’s biggest maker of customized chips, rose 1.4 percent to NT$59.60. Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., the world’s No. 1 maker of electronics and the supplier of Apple Inc.’s iPhone, climbed 2.8 percent to NT$130.50. They contributed the most to the Taiex’s gain.

“Investors are expecting more benefits from these negotiations and so are excited,” said Stanley Chou, a stocks trader at Mega International Investment Service Corp.

Copper futures for May delivery jumped as much as 6.2 percent today. The London Metal Exchange Index of six metals including copper and zinc advanced 2.8 percent on Feb. 26. Crude oil for April delivery increased $1.49 to settle at $79.66 a barrel in New York on Feb. 26.

Jiangxi Copper climbed 5.8 percent to HK$16.70. Oz Minerals Ltd., an Australian copper producer and gold producer, gained 5.3 percent to A$1.095. Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., a producer of gold and copper, rose 1.1 percent to 1,276 yen in Tokyo.

Copper climbed the most in 11 months on concern supply may be cut after the earthquake shut the Chilean mines of Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer. Codelco said it will meet supply contracts as it gradually restarts operations.

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