Aug. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks climbed, led by materials producers as global manufacturing data helped boost commodities prices, while makers of motor bikes and cars fell on earnings outlooks.

Mitsui & Co., a trading house that gets more than half its profit from commodities, added 5.7 percent. Insurer T&D Holdings Inc. added 2.9 percent after the gap narrowed between what banks and the U.S. Treasury pay to borrow. Yamaha Motor Co., the world’s No. 2 motorcycle maker, tumbled 9.9 percent after widening its annual loss forecast.

“Government spending and looser monetary policies worldwide will bring the global economy and company earnings to a clear recovery in 2010,” said Masayuki Kubota, a senior fund manager at Daiwa SB Investments Ltd., which manages $37 billion in assets. “The recovery will be short-lived after authorities tighten budgets and monetary policies.”

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 22.54, or 0.2 percent, to 10,375.01 at the close of trading in Tokyo, paring an early 1.2 percent climb. The broader Topix index rose 0.2 percent to 959.02. That completed a 13th day of gains, the longest such streak since March 1988, according to the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

The Topix’s 11 percent advance over the past 13 days drove up its estimated price-earnings ratio to 42.5 times, the highest level among gauges for the world’s five biggest markets, according to Bloomberg data. A 10th of the companies that reported their first-quarter results raised their full-year forecasts, a report from Shinko Research Institute Co. showed today.

Manufacturing Indexes

In New York, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed 1.5 percent yesterday, surpassing 1,000 for the first time since November. The Institute for Supply Management said its factory gauge jumped to an 11-month high of 48.9 in July, while economists had estimated the index would rise to 46.5. A reading below 50 indicates contraction.

Yesterday, research reports showed China’s and India’s manufacturing expanded in July as government stimulus measures and lower rates spurred demand. Separate reports showed manufacturing expanded in the U.K. for the first time in more than a year and shrank less in Europe than estimated.

Mitsui, Japan’s No. 2 trading house by value, advanced 5.7 percent to 1,247 yen. Bigger rival Mitsubishi Corp. added 2.1 percent to 1,956 yen after Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its rating to “buy” from “neutral,” citing valuations.

Crude oil rallied 3.1 percent to $71.58 a barrel in New York yesterday, the highest settlement since June 12. A gauge of six metals in London climbed 4.9 percent to a level not seen since Oct. 3.

Financial Shares

T&D, Japan’s largest listed life insurer, gained 2.9 percent to 2,975 yen. Tokio Marine Holdings Inc., the top casualty insurer in the country, added 1.2 percent to 2,855 yen.

The so-called TED spread, the difference between the London interbank offered rate for three-month dollar loans and the yield on the three-month U.S. Treasury bill, narrowed to 29.4 basis points, the first time it slid below 30 since March 2007. One percentage point equals 100 basis points.

“There are increasing expectations the global financial system is normalizing, prompting investors to buy financial shares,” Tsutomu Yamada, a market analyst at Tokyo-based Kabu.com Securities Co., said of the spread.

Automakers Slump

Yamaha plunged 9.9 percent to 1,096 yen and posted the steepest drop on the MSCI World Index. The company today widened its annual net-loss forecast more than fourfold. Nissan Motor Co. dropped 4.4 percent to 694 yen, partially offsetting yesterday’s 5.4 percent jump.

Suzuki Motor Corp., Japan’s No. 2 minicar maker, dived 5 percent to 2,300 yen. The company said yesterday net income tumbled 92 percent in the three months to June 30. Its larger rival Daihatsu Motor Co. dropped 7.3 percent to 983 yen after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. cut the stock to “neutral” from “buy.”

Toyota Motor Corp. lost 1.5 percent to 4,030 yen. The world’s largest automaker said after the close of trading it lost 77.8 billion yen ($818 million) in the first quarter, less than half what analysts had forecast. The automaker also narrowed its loss estimate for the year as government subsidies in Japan and the U.S. are helping to boost sales.

Nikkei futures expiring in September added 0.4 percent to 10,400 in Osaka and gained 0.5 percent to 10,400 in Singapore.

To contact the reporter for this story: Masaki Kondo in Tokyo at mkondo3@bloomberg.net; Patrick Rial in Tokyo at prial@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: August 4, 2009 03:31 EDT