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Asian stocks rose, led by Japanese automakers as the yen weakened, while brokerage recommendations boosted steelmakers and banks. Taiwan equities fell on speculation the island may impose a tax on trading shares.

Toyota Motor Corp. rose 2.6 percent as the yen traded near the lowest level in more than two weeks against the euro. JFE Holdings Inc., Japan’s No. 2 steelmaker, surged 6.1 percent after Goldman Sachs added the stock to its “conviction buy” list. Commonwealth Bank of Australia climbed 2 percent as Bank of America Corp.’s Merrill Lynch unit advised buying the stock. United Microelectronics Corp. sank 1.3 percent in Taipei.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.5 percent to 119.05 at 11:52 a.m. in Tokyo. The measure has climbed 68 percent from a five-year low on March 9 as Japan exited recession and growth accelerated in countries from China to Indonesia. Shares on the gauge trade at 1.57 times book value, up from 1.03 times at the market’s low in March, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“Markets continue to rise at such a rate and you’re always looking for rotation into the next thing that hasn’t moved yet,” said Tim Schroeders, who helps manage $1.1 billion at Pengana Capital Ltd. in Melbourne. “You’re probably going to get a number of false starts as people try to preempt a recovery that probably isn’t there yet, or is at best muted.”

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 0.4 percent to 10,055.15. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 1.3 percent, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 1 percent.

Higher Forecast

Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index expiring in December lost 0.1 percent to 1,070.60. The gauge advanced 0.4 percent to 1,076.19 yesterday, the highest since Oct. 3, 2008, as Black & Decker Corp. boosted its earnings forecast and Ford Motor Co. reported higher European sales.

“It seems investors are still happy to bid the market higher heading into the bulk of the reporting period,” said Ben Potter, a research analyst at IG Markets in Melbourne. “They’re taking confidence from earnings upgrades, with the latest being Black & Decker.”

Toyota, the world’s largest seller of hybrid vehicles, added 2.6 percent to 3,610 yen. Nissan Motor Co. gained 0.9 percent to 679 yen. The yen traded at 132.70 per euro from 132.72 yesterday, when it touched 133.32, the weakest level since Sept. 25.

JFE Holdings climbed 6.1 percent to 3,310. Nippon Steel Corp., the world’s second-largest steelmaker, added 6.2 percent to 358 yen. Goldman raised Nippon Steel to “buy” from “neutral.”

‘Maximum Bullish’

“We are turning maximum bullish on Asian Steel and on Japan in particular,” a team of analysts led by Rajeev Das at Goldman Sachs said in a report. “We expect Asian steel demand to surprise on the upside in 2010 -- mainly due to rising steel intensity of Asian economies.”

Rio Tinto Group climbed 1.3 percent to A$62.10 as a measure of six metals traded on the London Metal Exchange, including copper and zinc, added 1.1 percent yesterday.

Woodside Petroleum Ltd., Australia’s second-largest oil producer, added 0.9 percent to A$51.75, as crude traded at $73 a barrel in New York in after-hours trading, after settling yesterday at a seven-week high of $73.27.

“At this moment, it’s very easy for risk money to flow into the commodities and equity markets,” said Fumiyuki Nakanishi, a strategist at Tokyo-based SMBC Friend Securities Co. “Materials shares are likely to be snapped up.”

Broker Upgrade

Financial shares were led higher by Commonwealth Bank of Australia as Merrill Lynch raised its recommendation on the shares to “buy” from “neutral.” The stock is now the brokerage’s “preferred exposure” among Australia’s banks, analysts led by Matthew Davison wrote in a note to clients.

Commonwealth Bank gained 2 percent to A$53.68. National Australia Bank Ltd. rose 1.4 percent to A$31.45.

In Taipei, United Microelectronics, the world’s second-largest custom-chip maker, lost 1.3 percent to NT$15.20. Nan Ya Plastics Corp., the world’s largest processor of plastics for pipes and imitation leather, sank 2.4 percent to NT$53.60.

The Economic Daily News reported the island may impose a tax on stock trading by corporations, without saying where it got its information.