Asian stocks rose for the first time in three days, led by banks and mining companies, as Korea Exchange Bank and Westpac Banking Corp. posted better-than- estimated earnings and gold prices climbed to a record.

Korea Exchange Bank jumped 6.3 percent after saying third- quarter profit almost tripled. Westpac, Australia’s No. 2 bank, added 1.5 percent in Sydney. Zijin Mining Group Co., China’s largest gold company, and Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Japan’s top producer, gained more than 3 percent. Toyota Motor Corp. added 1.4 percent in Tokyo after the Yomiuri newspaper said the company had upgraded its production plan.

“Company earnings are improving faster than the global economy,” said Junichi Misawa, head of the equity investment division at Tokyo-based STB Asset Management Co., which manages the equivalent of $14 billion. “This scenario still remains intact, though valuations aren’t enticing.”

The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index rose 0.6 percent to 114.94 as of 1:24 p.m. in Tokyo, with two stocks advancing for each one that declined. The gauge has surged 63 percent from a more than five-year low on March 9 on signs government stimulus measures are reviving the global economy.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 0.1 percent to 9,811.09. Japan Steel Works Ltd., which makes reactor parts for Toshiba Corp. and Paris-based Areva SA, climbed 9.6 percent after raising its full-year earnings forecast. Tokyo Electron Ltd. slumped 4.7 percent as Morgan Stanley downgraded US semiconductor companies.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 1.7 percent and South Korea’s Kospi Index gained 1.1 percent. Seoul Semiconductor Co. advanced 4.4 percent after saying Singapore’s Temasek Holdings Pte will invest in the manufacturer. Futures on the US Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 0.3 percent, while Treasuries were little changed before US reports economists expect to show service industries expanded and companies cut fewer jobs. The S&P 500 rose 0.2 percent  amid takeover announcements. Korea Exchange Bank jumped 6.3 percent to 13,600 won after its third-quarter net income of 422.1 billion won ($357 million) beat the 223.7 billion won expected by analysts surveyed by

In Sydney, Westpac added 1.5 percent to A$25.80 as its second-half profit fell 10 percent, less than analysts expected. The lender joined Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. in saying bad debts have peaked as the economy recovers.

Australia raised its benchmark interest rate, the second increase in four weeks, amid signs of strength in the country’s economy. The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index has fallen 5.2 percent from this year’s high on October 20 as investor concern grew that governments will withdraw their stimulus policies.

Stock declines have dragged the average price of companies in the MSCI gauge to 22 times estimated earnings, a level not seen since May 1, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Bank of Japan governor Masaaki Shirakawa was cited by the Yomiuri newspaper as saying problems would occur “if we take inflation measures to reduce the value of government bonds.”

“Governments can’t continue to give these shots in the arm in the face of budget deficits, and investors aren’t confident in a sustained recovery after the shots run out,” STB Asset’s Misawa said.

In Hong Kong, Zijin Mining climbed 4.9 percent to HK$8.15, while Sumitomo Metal Mining added 3.1 percent to ¥1,483 in Tokyo. Gold jumped to a record $1,088.50 an ounce in New York after India’s central bank purchased the metal from the International Monetary Fund.

Newcrest Mining Ltd., Australia’s largest gold producer, jumped 3.5 percent to A$34.54, while Lihir Gold Ltd. added 4.1 percent to A$3.30. Material producers accounted for 14 percent of the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index’s advance.