Oct. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks rose for a third day, led by commodity producers including BHP Billiton and Inpex Corp., after copper prices climbed and crude oil had its biggest jump in three weeks.

``I'm still bullish on resources shares because the fundamentals that will drive commodities demand and prices have not really changed,'' said Eric Betts, a Sydney-based strategist at Nomura Australia Ltd. ``There's more value there now.''

The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia Pacific Index, which tracks more than 1,000 stocks, added 0.5 percent to 111.61 at 11:20 a.m. in Tokyo, extending a two-day, 1.3 percent advance. A measure of raw-material shares added 0.6 percent, while energy shares as a group gained 0.9 percent.

Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 0.4 percent to 13,628.94, while the Topix index gained 1.1 percent. Benchmarks advanced around the region except in South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and the Philippines.

Computer-related stocks fell after LG.Philips LCD Co. predicted flat-panel prices will drop in the fourth quarter and after Morgan Stanley cut its recommendation on Samsung Electronics Co.

The U.S. Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 0.2 percent yesterday to its lowest since May 17 amid concern higher oil prices will slow economic growth.

BHP Billiton, the world's largest miner, climbed 1.7 percent to A$20.69. The company also gets about a fifth of its earnings from oil. Inpex, Japan's biggest oil producer, gained 2.7 percent to 832,000 yen.

Copper, Crude

Copper futures in London yesterday climbed 1.4 percent to $3,970 a metric ton, the third straight increase. Crude oil in New York jumped 2.8 percent, the biggest advance since Sept. 19, to $63.53 a barrel. Oil was at $63.66 in after-hours trading.

Woodside Petroleum Ltd., Australia's second-biggest oil producer, rose 2 percent to A$32.48. Rio Tinto Ltd., the world's third-largest miner, added 0.8 percent to A$57.45. JFE Holdings Inc., Japan's second-largest steelmaker, rose 2.4 percent to 3,900 yen.

LG.Philips, the world's largest maker of liquid crystal displays, slid 5.9 percent to 42,350 won. The company reported a 22 percent drop in quarterly profit from a year earlier to 227 billion won ($218 million).

Brokerages including Woori Investment & Securities Co. cut their share price estimates on the company, citing slower profit growth on falling prices. Woori Investment downgraded the stock to ``hold'' from ``buy.''

`Difficult to Buy'

Samsung Electronics, South Korea's largest electronics maker and exporter, lost 1 percent to 593,000 won. Keon Han, a Morgan Stanley analyst, cut a recommendation on the stock to ``equal weight'' from ``overweight,'' according to the brokerage's daily note.

``We discount what we see as a likely business cycle slowdown for Samsung'' in the first half of 2006, Han wrote.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world's largest supplier of made-to-order chips, dropped 1.7 percent to NT$52. AU Optronics Corp. slid 5.7 percent to NT$39.90.

``It's really difficult to buy technology shares without any real signs of a turnaround in prices, which everyone has been expecting for some time now,'' said Koji Uchida, who helps manage $17 billion at UFJ Partners Asset Management Co. in Tokyo. He favors financial shares and real estate developers.

To contact the reporter on this story: Darren Boey in Hong Kong at dboey@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: October 11, 2005 22:24 EDT