ASIAN energy stocks rose, led by BHP Billiton Ltd and CNOOC Ltd after oil traded near a six-month high on concern supplies from the Middle East will be disrupted.

"The last few days of oil price increases have to translate into earnings at some point," said Angus Gluskie, who helps manage about US$307 million at White Funds Management in Sydney.

Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd, which has overtaken Bank of America Corp as the world's second-largest bank, led lenders higher in Hong Kong and Chinese mainland after a People's Bank of China survey showed their confidence is improving, Bloomberg News said.

Sony Corp and Samsung Electronics Co declined after US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said inflation remains a risk in the region's biggest export market.

The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index was little changed at 144.95 at 5:46pm in Tokyo. A measure of energy stocks climbed 1.3 percent. The benchmark is heading for a 3.1 percent gain this quarter.

Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 0.1 percent to 17,263.90, while the broader Topix index was little changed. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 1.4 percent, the most in the region. Other markets rose, except in Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

BHP, the world's largest mining company which gets about a fifth of its sales from oil, added 0.8 percent to A$29.71 (US$24.04). CNOOC, China's biggest offshore oil producer, added 3.2 percent to HK$6.83 (87 US cents) in Hong Kong. Japan Petroleum Exploration Co, the country's second-biggest oil exporter, climbed 1.8 percent to 8,500 yen (US$72.47).