Asian stocks rose, with the regional benchmark index gaining for a second day, after US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said he's prepared to do more to stimulate US growth if needed.

Samsung Electronics Co, South Korea's biggest consumer electronics maker, climbed 2.7 percent. Hitachi Chemical Co jumped 6.7 percent in Tokyo on a rating boost by Credit Suisse Group AG after the semiconductor materials supplier forecast higher earnings. Fanuc Ltd sank 6.1 percent after the maker of factory robots said its operating profit will fall.

"The Federal Reserve didn't rule out the possibility of additional monetary easing," said Mitsushige Akino, who oversees about $600 million in Tokyo at Ichiyoshi Investment Management Co. "That's leading to confidence among investors."

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index increased 0.6 percent to 124.33 by 6:58 pm in Tokyo.

Trading volumes in Japan and Hong Kong were at least 22 percent lower than the 30-day average, while those in Shanghai were about 23 percent higher.

Asian stocks extended a global rally spurred by better-than-estimated earnings at companies from Boeing Co to Corning Inc.

South Korea's Kospi Index gained 0.1 percent after the economy expanded at the fastest pace in a year. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index added 0.3 percent as it resumed trading after Wednesday's holiday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index increased 0.8 percent.

The Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks the bigger of China's stock exchanges, fell 2.12 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,404.70. The CSI 300 Index gained 0.2 percent to 2,631.49.

Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average closed little changed, erasing gains of as much as 0.7 percent.

Exporters gain

Asian exporters advanced after Fed policymakers said they expect growth will gradually accelerate, while refraining from new action to lower borrowing costs.

Central bankers upgraded their forecasts for economic growth and unemployment while repeating their view that borrowing costs are likely to remain "exceptionally low" at least through late 2014.

Samsung climbed 2.7 percent to 1.34 million won ($1,179) in Seoul. James Hardie Industries SE, a building materials supplier that gets about 68 percent of its sales from the United States, gained 1.1 percent to A$7.38 ($7.65) in Sydney.

Techtronic Industries Co, the maker of Ryobi power tools that counts North America as its largest market, rose 2 percent to HK$9.63 ($1.24) in Hong Kong.

Hitachi Chemical advanced 6.7 percent to 1,514 yen ($18.71) in Tokyo. Credit Suisse raised its rating to buy from neutral, saying the company is benefiting from rising demand for raw materials needed to make touch screens for smartphones and tablets.

The company said on Wednesday that it expects its operating profit in the year ending March 2013 to increase 47 percent.

China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd, the nation's second-largest mobile-phone company, jumped 4 percent to HK$13.54 after reporting its first-quarter net income rose to 1 billion yuan ($159 million) from a restated 145 million yuan a year earlier.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 9.2 percent this year, compared with a 10.6 percent advance by the S&P 500 and a 4.8 percent increase by the Stoxx Europe 600 Index.

Bloomberg News in Singapore and Tokyo