Asian stocks rose, with the regional benchmark index climbing from its lowest level in more than two months, as materials producers and traders increased on higher commodity prices and Citigroup Inc recommended buying global industrial shares.

BHP Billiton Ltd, the world's biggest mining company, added 0.9 percent in Sydney as copper and oil prices climbed. Fanuc Corp, a maker of production automation systems, advanced 2.7 percent after Citigroup maintained a buy rating on the Japanese company. Australian banks increased after the country's payrolls rose almost seven times as much as economists estimated.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.6 percent to 123.81 at 4:26 pm in Tokyo after falling as much as 0.2 percent. With the exception of benchmark indexes in Seoul and Karachi, every major gauge in the region advanced on Thursday.