March 4 (Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks rose, sending the Topix index to its highest close since April. Energy stocks including Inpex Corp. climbed after New York crude futures jumped and Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. surged after new gold deposits were discovered in the country's biggest gold mine.

``I'm still bullish on natural resource stocks because you can't deny their earnings potential,'' said Shigeharu Shiraishi, who helps oversee the equivalent of $16 billion in assets as a managing director at Societe Generale Asset Management (Japan) Co. in Tokyo. ``The gain in commodity prices is a reflection of surging global demand, and that's going to support their shares.''

The Topix gained 2.59, or 0.2 percent, to 1192.11, the highest since April 28, at the 3 p.m. close in Tokyo. The index advanced for sixth week, rising 2.1 percent, matching the series of weekly advances ended April 23.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 16.589, or 0.1 percent, to 11,873.05, rounding off a 1.8 percent advance for the week.

Both benchmarks rose for a seventh day. For the Nikkei, that was the longest since Jan. 22, 2001, when it also rose for seven sessions, while for the Topix it's the longest since Aug. 30, when it advanced for 10 days.

Nikkei 225 futures for March delivery advanced 0.3 percent to 11,880 in Osaka and rose 0.5 percent to 11,880 in Singapore.

Some 1.39 billion yen ($13 billion) in shares included in the Topix traded, 18 percent more than the daily average for the past three months. Four stocks gained for every three that fell on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's first section.

To contact the reporter on this story: Tomoko Yamazaki in Tokyo at tyamazaki@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: March 4, 2005 01:13 EST