July 23 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks rose for a third day, led by banks and airlines, after Macquarie Group Ltd. said it made a ``solid'' start to the year and oil fell to a six-week low.

Macquarie, Australia's biggest securities firm, climbed the most in almost four months. Korean Air Lines Co. and Qantas Airways Ltd. rose on expectation their fuel costs will fall. Komatsu Ltd., the No. 2 maker of earthmovers, gained after rival Caterpillar Inc. raised its sales forecast. India's Sensitive Index surged the most in three weeks after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government retained the support of parliament.

``It's now primarily a question of confidence in the financial sector and once that confidence is restored, we'll see equities bounce back,'' said Beat Lenherr, who oversees more than $20 billion of assets as Singapore-based chief global strategist at LGT Capital Management. ``Concerns over commodity prices, oil in particular, have gone away to some extent.''

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 1.4 percent to 134.87 as of 7:36 p.m. in Tokyo, extending a three-day, 4.5 percent rally. About five stocks gained for each that declined as most benchmark indexes rose.

Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 1 percent to 13,312.93. Asahi Breweries Ltd., Japan's biggest brewer by sales, advanced after saying first-half profit beat its own forecast.

The MSCI index has lost 14 percent this year, part of a global slump in equities that erased almost $13 trillion from an October record, as oil prices soared and the world's largest banks and securities firms reported more than $467 billion of writedowns and credit losses.

Global Concerns Easing

U.S. stocks rallied yesterday, sending the Standard & Poor's 500 Index 1.4 percent higher. Wachovia Corp., Bank of America Corp. and SunTrust Banks Inc. helped lenders extend a rebound from last week's nine-year low after Deutsche Bank AG analyst Mike Mayo said bank losses haven't spread ``as much as feared.'' Futures on the S&P 500 were little changed today.

``Earnings at U.S. financial companies aren't good but they're not the worst,'' said Naoki Fujiwara, who oversees the equivalent of $720 million as chief fund manager at Tokyo-based Shinkin Asset Management Co. ``Concern the situation will worsen has eased and the global financial market seems to have got out of the critical situation.''

Macquarie, which posted its slowest profit growth in two years in May due to writedowns on its European assets, gained 12 percent to A$52, the most since March 25.

Banks Lead Advance

Chief Executive Officer Nicholas Moore said ``Macquarie's businesses are performing relatively well despite market conditions deteriorating since this time last year,'' according to a statement before an annual shareholder meeting in Melbourne.

Other financial companies advanced on speculation credit- market losses will ease as the risk of holding corporate bonds fell in Asia. A gauge of financial stocks led gains among the MSCI Asia Pacific Index's 10 groups, contributing to 65 percent of the broader measure's advance.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Japan's largest bank by market value, gained 2.4 percent to 1,010 yen. Smaller rival Mizuho Financial Group Inc. climbed 4.3 percent to 583,000 yen. National Australia Bank Ltd., the nation's largest bank, rose 7.1 percent to A$29.60, the most since March 19.

``There are a few detractors out there who think there's a lot more pain to be borne, but today they're losing,'' said Hans Kunnen, head of investment market research in Sydney at Colonial First State Global Management, which holds about $128 billion of assets. ``Oil price declines take the pressure off interest rate rises if they're sustained, and that's good for the banks.''

Lower Risk

The cost of protecting Japanese and Australian corporate bonds from default declined, according to traders of credit- default swaps. The Markit iTraxx Japan index fell 9 basis points to 122, according to prices from Morgan Stanley.

Crude oil in New York was recently at $127.62 a barrel in after-hours trading, poised for the lowest close since June 4. Oil dropped $3.09 a barrel to $127.95 a barrel yesterday.

The 17-member Bloomberg Asia Pacific Airlines Index gained 3 percent today, the biggest increase since March 25, on the expectation jet-fuel costs will drop.

Korean Air Lines, South Korea's largest airline, gained 5.2 percent, the most since July 10, to 47,800 won. Air New Zealand Ltd. rose 7 percent to NZ$1.23 in Wellington. Qantas, Australia's largest carrier, climbed 6.2 percent to A$3.60 in Sydney, the most since July 1.

The region's biggest oil companies declined. Inpex Holdings Inc., Japan's largest explorer, dropped 4.2 percent to 1.1106 million yen. Woodside Petroleum Ltd., Australia's No. 2 oil and gas producer, slid 2 percent to A$55.95.

Komatsu, Doosan

Komatsu climbed 2.3 percent to 2,950 yen, the highest since June 30. Hitachi Construction Machinery Co. rose 3.9 percent to 3,230 yen. Caterpillar, the world's largest maker of earthmoving equipment, raised its 2008 sales forecast after second-quarter profit climbed to a record on Chinese and Middle Eastern demand.

Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co., South Korea's biggest power-equipment maker, gained 5 percent to 97,600 won, the most since May 8, after predicting record profit this year.

Asahi Breweries added 3.3 percent to 1,956 yen. First-half net income of 18.9 billion yen ($176 million) beat the company's 11.5 billion yen forecast, according to a preliminary earnings statement yesterday. The company cited cuts in advertising and fixed costs for the result.

State Bank of India, the nation's largest lender, gained 10 percent to 1,543.3 rupees, the highest since May 23. Prime Minister Singh yesterday won the country's first confidence motion in a decade, giving him the support needed to revive stalled policies.

To contact the reporters for this story: Chua Kong Ho in Shanghai at kchua6@bloomberg.net; Chen Shiyin in Singapore at schen37@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: July 23, 2008 06:42 EDT