SHANGHAI (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks advanced the most this month, led by technology shares, on signs sales of consumer electronics will withstand a slowdown in the U.S. economy.

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., the maker of iPods and iPhones for Apple Inc., and Advantest Corp. gained after Research In Motion Ltd., the maker of BlackBerrys, and Qualcomm Inc. raised their profit forecasts.
“Demand for electronics appeared to be holding up, easing investors' worries about tech companies' outlook,” said Eric Chou, who helps manage $1.8 billion at Jih Sun Securities Investment Trust Co. in Taipei.
China Life Insurance Co. led the country's insurers higher after the nation's central bank raised interest rates, boosting returns on fixed-income investments. Nippon Steel Corp. paced gains by steelmakers on speculation demand for the alloy will boost prices.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 1.3 percent to 153.80 at 7:17 p.m. in Tokyo, snapping a seven-day, 8 percent decline. The advance is the most since Nov. 29 and pared the index's loss for the week to 1.9 percent. Nine of the 10 industry groups on the benchmark climbed Friday.
For the year, the measure is up 9.4 percent, on course for its lowest annual gain in five years. Stocks on the benchmark are now valued at an average 17 times reported earnings, compared with 18 times profit for the Standard & Poor's 500 Index.
Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 1.5 percent to 15,257. All Asia's benchmarks advanced. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.1 percent, snapping its longest losing streak in five years, led by National Bank of Australia Ltd. on speculation recent declines were excessive relative to earnings prospects.
---------------------------------Technology stocks
Hon Hai rose 2.1 percent to NT$191.5 in Taipei, boosting its gain for the week to 8.2 percent, its largest weekly advance in four months. Advantest, the world's biggest maker of memory-chip testers, added 4.6 percent to 3,220 yen. Tokyo Electron Ltd., the world's No. 2 manufacturer of chip equipment, added 4.9 percent to 6,810 yen, its biggest gain in two weeks.
Research In Motion said sales this quarter will increase to as much as $1.87 billion on consumer demand for the BlackBerry e-mail phone. Qualcomm said sales will climb to about $2.4 billion, the high end of an earlier forecast, as people continue to buy phones with advanced features.
In the U.S., the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 1.5 percent yesterday, the biggest increase in two weeks, after Oracle Corp. projected third-quarter revenue will rise as much as 23 percent, more than the average estimate of analysts in a Bloomberg survey.
---------------------------Chinese insurers
China Life, the nation's biggest insurer, added 2.9 percent to HK$40.60 in Hong Kong, its best gain this month. Ping An Insurance (Group) Co., the second-largest insurer, rose 1.9 percent to HK$82.10 in Hong Kong.
China raised interest rates for a sixth time this year to cool decade-high inflation in the world's fastest-growing major economy. The benchmark one-year lending rate will increase to 7.47 percent, a nine-year high, from 7.29 percent, starting Friday, the People's Bank of China said Thursday.
“Insurers benefit from the rate increase by using new premiums to buy fixed-income products that have higher yields,” said Fan Dizhao, who helps manage about $1.8 billion at Guotai Asset Management in Shanghai.
National Australia Bank, the country's biggest lender which fell 5.1 percent in the past four days, gained 3.7 percent to A$37.81. Westpac Banking Corp., the fourth-largest Australian bank, added 0.8 percent to A$27.53, after sliding 5.9 percent earlier this week.
-----------------------------‘Seeing value’
“It has been a horrible seven days and now we're seeing the market bounce back a little bit,” said Paul Xiradis, who helps manage the equivalent of $11 billion at Ausbil Dexia in Sydney. “People are still cautious but they are seeing value out there.”
BlueScope Steel Ltd., Australia's largest producer, gained 1.4 percent to A$9.39, after UBS AG raised its stock rating to “buy” from “neutral,” citing a positive outlook for prices of the alloy.
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. led a decline among shipping companies after commodity-freight rates dropped the most in almost two months.
Mitsui O.S.K., Japan's second-largest shipping line, slid 2.5 percent to 1,400 yen. China Shipping Container Lines Co., the No. 2 container shipping company in Asia, fell 2.9 percent to HK$4.74. STX Pan Ocean Co., South Korea's largest carrier of coal, iron and other commodities, declined 2 percent to 3,000 won.
------------------------------Centro properties
The Baltic Dry Index, a measure of commodity-cargo rates, dropped 2.1 percent yesterday, the biggest fall since Oct. 31.
Elsewhere, Centro Properties Group, which owns 700 shopping centers in the U.S., slumped 15 percent to A$1.12, capping an 80 percent tumble for the week. Moody's Investors Service said it may cut the rating on the credit quality of A$900 million ($780 million) bonds sold by Centro Properties Group that are backed by loans on its assets.
Canon Inc., Japan's largest office equipment maker, declined 2.2 percent to 5,240 yen. The Tokyo-based company will report full-year profit of 488 billion yen ($4.31 billion), below its forecast of 500 billion yen, the Nikkei newspaper reported Friday.