Asian stocks rose Monday, with the regional index headed for its steepest three-day advance in almost two months, as commodity shares climbed amid a rally in crude oil. New Zealand's dollar dropped while Japanese bonds extended gains.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 0.6 percent by 11:04 a.m. in Tokyo, bringing its gain since Dec. 18 to 3 percent. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 jumped 1.4 percent as the Hang Seng Index rose 1.1 percent. Crude rose for a second day. The kiwi slid 0.4 percent, while Indonesia's rupiah headed for its longest rally since February. Yields on 10-year Japanese debt fell to the lowest level since April 2013 as the spread between five- and 30-year Treasury rates narrowed to the least in six years. Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures lost 0.1 percent.

The Federal Reserve said last week that it would be patient over interest-rate increases, while signaling borrowing costs could be raised as early as April, simultaneously spurring a surge in global stocks and declines in U.S. Treasuries. The Bank of England releases minutes of its last meeting today, with data tomorrow projected to show U.S. growth was faster than initially estimated last quarter. Saudi Arabia's oil minister said he's is confident crude will rebound as oil demand recovers.

“In general, investors seem to be feeling that it's safe to buy after the Fed's shown that they're not in a hurry to raise rates,” Shoji Hirakawa, chief equity strategist at Okasan Securities Co. in Tokyo, said by phone today. How oil “might move towards next week hasn't become clear, so it could still disrupt markets.”

Oil Moves

Brent oil added 0.9 percent to $61.91 a barrel, extending Dec. 19's 3.6 percent surge, the most since October 2012. The oil blend settled at $59.27 Dec.18, the lowest close since May 2009 and is still down 44 percent this year. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 1.1 percent today to $57.73 per barrel after soaring 4.5 percent at the end of last week.