Asian stocks closed

Asian stocks rose after confidence in the U.S. housing industry climbed to the highest level in seven months and tensions eased over global political conflicts. Hong Kong shares climbed to a six-year high.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.7 percent to 148.99 as of 4:03 p.m. in Hong Kong, with all 10 of its industry groups rising. The gauge jumped 2.7 percent last week, the most in four months, as concern eased over global conflicts from Ukraine to Gaza and Iraq. A measure of U.S. homebuilder sentiment yesterday showed confidence rose in August, indicating the industry is making more headway as the Federal Reserve watches economic data to help gauge adjustments to monetary stimulus.

Amcor advanced 4.6 percent to A$10.75 in Sydney after reporting net income of A$564.8 million ($527.4 million), topping the A$560 million average forecast of analysts.

Terumo climbed 3.5 percent to 2,596 yen in Tokyo. Credit Suisse upgraded the shares to outperform from neutral, citing an expected improvement in profit margins at its hospital business as costs are cut.

Don Quijote slipped 3.7 percent to 5,510 yen after projecting operating profit of 34.8 billion yen for the current fiscal year. That's less than than the 37.7 billion estimate of 10 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Nikkei 225 15,449.79 +127.19 +0.83%

Hang Seng 25,122.95 +167.49 +0.67%

S&P/ASX 200 5,623.78 +36.68 +0.66%

Shanghai Composite 2,245.33 +5.86 +0.26%