Japan's stocks jumped the most in almost two months after orders for durable goods in the U.S. unexpectedly rose in April, easing concern an economic slowdown will curb spending in Japan's biggest export market.
Sony Corp., which gets a quarter of its sales from the U.S., sent electronics makers higher, while Canon Inc. jumped the most in a month. Mazda Motor Corp., which exports 80 percent of domestic production, led a gain by carmakers after the yen weakened against the dollar. Wigmaker Aderans Holdings Co. surged after its shareholders rejected the reappointment of executives.

European stocks rose for a second day as investors speculated higher oil prices will boost earnings at energy companies and UBS AG recommended buying utilities' shares.
Royal Dutch Shell Plc and BP Plc, Europe's biggest oil companies, gained after the biggest drop in U.S. oil inventories in more than three years. E.ON AG and RWE AG, Germany's largest utilities, rallied as UBS said power prices will advance further. Man Group Plc rose to the highest in 10 months after the world's largest publicly traded hedge-fund manager doubled its dividend and said profit jumped 60 percent last year.
Shell, Europe's largest oil company, gained 1.4 percent to 2,188 pence. BP, the region's second-biggest, climbed 1.1 percent to 612.5 pence. Total SA rose 1.5 percent to 56.45 euros.
Oil supplies declined 8.88 million barrels to 311.6 million last week, the biggest drop since Sept. 17, 2004, when Hurricane Ivan forced the closing of U.S. oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. Crude oil for July delivery was little changed above $130 a barrel in New York before European markets closed.
RWE AG added 2.7 percent to 83.76 euros after UBS upgraded Germany's second-largest utility to ``buy'' from ``neutral.'' E.ON, Germany's biggest, gained 2.8 percent to 136.39 euros.


U.S. stocks rose for a third day as MasterCard Inc.'s forecast of faster profit growth spurred a rally in financial shares and tumbling oil prices boosted the earnings outlook for companies that rely on consumer spending.
Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. helped send the KBW Bank Index to its steepest rally in a month after MasterCard said consumers are using credit and debit cards more. Target Corp. and Best Buy Co. led retailers to their first three-day advance in a month as crude slid on signs that record prices will reduce demand. Google Inc. gained after the most popular Internet search engine had more clicks on its U.S. text advertisements in April.
Stocks also climbed after the government said the U.S. economy grew more than previously estimated in the first quarter as Americans bought fewer goods from abroad, helping the trade deficit shrink to a five-year low. Treasuries fell for a third day, pushing the yield on 10-year notes to a five-month high.
MasterCard, the world's second-biggest credit-card network, climbed $27.17, or 9.5 percent, to a record $314.06. The company said in a regulatory filing that it expects net income to increase an average 20 percent to 30 percent annually over the ``longer-term,'' compared with a previous goal of 15 percent to 20 percent.
Larger rival Visa Inc. rose 4.7 percent to $85.75.
Countrywide Financial Corp., the biggest U.S. mortgage lender, rallied after setting June 25 as the date for shareholders to vote on the $4 billion takeover by Bank of America. A firm date for the special shareholders meeting may help quell investor concern that Bank of America will seek a lower price or cancel the deal. Countrywide rallied 10 percent to $5.48.
Citigroup, the largest U.S. bank by assets, climbed 2.6 percent to $22.17. Bank of America, the second-biggest, rose 2.5 percent to $34.71. JPMorgan, the No. 3, added 2.3 percent to $43.85.

The dollar rose the most in three weeks against the euro as the U.S. government said the economy grew at a faster pace than initially estimated last quarter.
The U.S. economy expanded at a 0.9 percent annual pace last quarter, faster than the Commerce Department's April 30 estimate of 0.6 percent, the government said. U.S. durable goods orders excluding transportation equipment rose 2.5 percent in April, the government said yesterday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey was for a 0.5 percent drop.
The U.S. currency also gained a fourth straight day against the yen after Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher said yesterday the central bank will raise interest rates should consumers expect faster inflation. The Canadian dollar gained after a report showed Canada's current-account surplus in the first quarter was almost double the forecast.
``U.S. data is not turning out as weak as the market anticipated and that's giving the dollar a bounce,'' said Shaun Osborne, chief currency strategist at TD Securities Inc. in Toronto. ``On top of that you had very hawkish comments from the Fed.''
Futures on the Chicago Board of Trade show a 39 percent chance the Fed will raise its target rate by a quarter- percentage point to 2.25 percent on Sept. 16, up from 29 percent yesterday. The central bank has cut rates seven times since September. Japan's benchmark rate is 0.5 percent and the euro region's is 4 percent.
Should ``inflation expectations continue to worsen, I would expect a change of course in monetary policy to occur sooner rather than later,'' Fisher said in a speech in San Francisco. ``I don't know a single person on the committee that isn't concerned about inflation.''
Higher oil prices will stoke inflation in the U.S. to an average of 4.5 percent this year, according to David Rosenberg, chief North America economist at Merrill Lynch & Co. in New York. Consumer prices rose 3.9 percent in the year through April, according to the Labor Department.
``The market has to re-price the Fed removing accommodation quicker than expected on the back of rising inflation concerns,'' said Matthew Kassel, director of proprietary trading at ING Financial Markets LLC in New York. ``Yields are up and that's driving the dollar.''