Asian Market rises..

Asian stocks advanced for the first time in three days, led by Toyota Motor Corp., after the U.S. unemployment rate unexpectedly dropped, easing concern demand will slow in the world's biggest economy.

``The employment data was good news for exporters because it provided evidence that the fundamentals of the U.S. economy are stable,'' said Hideyuki Ookoshi, who oversees $365 million at Chiba-Gin Asset Management Co. in Tokyo.

Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co. gained after the value of South Korean developers' overseas contracts jumped 43 percent in the first quarter. Taiwan's Bank of Overseas Chinese climbed after Citigroup Inc. agreed to buy the lender.

The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index added 0.3 percent to 146.73 at 10.46 p.m. in Tokyo. Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average advanced 1.3 percent. All markets open for trading gained. Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines are closed for holidays.

Toyota, the world's largest automaker by value, rose 1.4 percent to 7,500 yen. Sony Corp., the maker of the PlayStation 3 game console, jumped 2.3 percent to 6,340 yen. Toyota generated more than a third of its fiscal 2006 revenue in North America while Sony made 70 percent of its sales overseas last year.

U.S. unemployment fell to 4.4 percent last month, the Labor Department said on April 6, matching a five-year low in October. The median estimate of 73 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for a 4.6 percent climb, from 4.5 percent. Some 180,000 new jobs were created in March, more than the forecast 130,000 rise.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world's biggest supplier of made-to-order chips, gained 0.3 percent to NT$69.50. Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd., the third-largest custom chip maker, climbed 1.4 percent to S$1.46 in Singapore.

Yen Weakens

Japanese stocks also gained after the yen weakened against the dollar and the euro, increasing the value of overseas sales when converted back into yen. Komatsu Ltd., the world's second-largest maker of construction machinery, climbed 2.2 percent to 2,520 yen.

The yen weakened to 119.26 against the dollar in New York on April 6, the lowest since Feb. 26. Japan's currency fell to a record intra-day low of 159.69 versus the euro. The yen recently changed hands at 119.37 per dollar and 159.61 to the euro.

``If the yen continues to trade around its current level that will be positive for companies here,'' said Chiba-Gin Asset Management's Ookoshi.