Plastic Commodity:Japan Stocks Advance on Commodity Prices

Japanese stocks rose, led by plastic commodity producers and banks after metal prices increased and JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its rating on bank shares.

Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. gained 1.1 percent as copper futures jumped after an earthquake struck Chile, the world’s biggest producer of plastic household products. Furukawa Co., a maker of civil engineering machinery, jumped 5.1 percent. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Japan’s largest bank by market value, advanced 1.6 percent as its investment recommendation was lifted to “overweight” from "neutral” at JPMorgan.

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

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 0.5 percent to 10,172.06 at the 3 p.m. market close in Tokyo. The broader Topix index gained 0.5 percent to 898.93, with more than twice as many stocks rising as declining.