May 29 (Bloomberg) -- Japan stocks rose, extending weekly and monthly gains, after oil hit a six-month high and sea cargo rates surged, overshadowing unemployment at a five-year high.

Inpex Corp., Japan’s No. 1 oil explorer, gained 6.3 percent. Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd., the nation’s third-biggest shipping line, added 6.4 percent. Yamada Denki Co., Japan’s biggest electronics retailer, lost 2.7 percent as the jobless rate climbed in April and household spending sank for a 14th month. Toshiba Corp. added 2.6 percent on a media report the company will increase production of semiconductors.

“Investor sentiment is improving and people are looking for bargains in the market,” said Mitsushige Akino, who oversees about $632 million at Ichiyoshi Investment Management Co. “We need to see something surprising to go beyond the current level.”

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 71.11, or 0.8 percent, to close at 9,522.50 in Tokyo. The broader Topix index added 2.32, or 0.3 percent, to 897.91. Five stocks declined for every four that advanced on the Topix.

The Nikkei added 3.2 percent on the week and 7.9 percent in May, the third-straight monthly climb. The Topix had respective gains of 2.5 percent and 7.2 percent. Companies on the Topix traded at 1.15 times book value yesterday, the highest level since Oct. 6.

Oil, Shipping Fees

Inpex gained 6.3 percent to 771,000 yen, while smaller rival Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. soared 9.8 percent. Crude rose to a six-month high after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries decided to leave production quotas unchanged.

Crude for July delivery rose as much as 0.6 percent on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and yesterday gained 2.6 percent to $65.08 a barrel, the highest settlement since Nov. 5.

Kawasaki Kisen added 6.4 percent to 431 yen after the Baltic Dry Index, a measure of commodity-shipping fees, climbed for a 19th day to an eight-month high. Market leader Nippon Yusen K.K. leapt 5.3 percent to 456 yen. Mining companies and shipping lines were the biggest winners among 33 industry groups on the Topix, followed by developers.

Mitsui Fudosan soared 7 percent to 1,585 yen, bringing its gain this week’s to 20 percent, the most since the five days ended Nov. 28. A gauge of property developers sharply extended gains in the last five minutes of Tokyo trading.

Window Dressing

“As real estate companies have lagged behind other cyclical sectors, they probably became easy targets for window dressing,” said Ichiyoshi’s Akino.

Yamada Denki lost 2.7 percent to 5,440 yen after the government statistics bureau said Japan’s jobless rate rose to a five-year high of 5 percent in April, and household spending fell for a 14th month. Izumi Co., which operates shopping centers, dropped 5 percent, breaking a five-day winning streak.

A separate report from the Trade Ministry showed industrial production advanced 5.2 percent in April from the previous month, while economists had estimated a 3.3 percent increase. That was the fastest increase in 56 years.

“Companies that have drawn down inventories too fast will be replenishing through June, but the job market suggests they won’t be adding to their stockpiles,” said Akio Yoshino, chief economist at Societe Generale Asset Management (Japan) Co., which oversees about $25 Billion.

Toshiba, Japan’s largest chipmaker, added 2.6 percent to 357 yen after public broadcaster NHK said the company will raise output of flash-memory chips as demand recovers. That would reverse a production cut in January.

Nikkei futures expiring in June added 0.6 percent to 9,510 in Osaka and gained 1 percent to 9,510 in Singapore.

To contact the reporters for this story: Jason Clenfield in Tokyo at Jclenfield@bloomberg.net; Masaki Kondo in Tokyo at mkondo3@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: May 29, 2009 03:59 EDT