BEIJING, June 2 -- Asian exporter stocks advanced yesterday after a gain in the US dollar against the region's currencies boosted the value of their overseas sales. Toyota Motor Corp and BHP Billiton gained.

    "The dollar will stabilize around current levels for the time being, a positive for exporter stocks," said Yoji Takeda, who helps manage about US$550 million in Asian equities at RBC Investment (Asia) Ltd in Hong Kong.

    A stronger US currency increases the value of companies' dollar-denominated revenue in local terms. Japan's Toyota gets as much as 70 percent of operating profit from North America, according to Credit Suisse Group.

    Energy-related stocks such as China's CNOOC Ltd and Australia's Woodside Petroleum Ltd dragged the region's benchmark to its lowest in two months as oil prices fell.

    The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index, a dollar-based measure of 14 markets, slid 0.3 percent to 127.63 in Tokyo.

    In Japan, which accounts for 60 percent of the measure's market value, the Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 0.2 percent, to 15,503.74, while the broader Topix index advanced 0.3 percent.

    Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index added 1.2 percent. Benchmarks also rose in Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and Pakistan.

    Bank of China Ltd surged in its Hong Kong debut after completing the world's biggest initial share sale in six years.

    The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index lost 6.4 percent last month, the most since September 2002, amid concern interest rates will rise further in the United States, Asia's biggest export market.

    Japan's Toyota, the world's largest automaker by value, advanced 1.5 percent to 6,020 yen (US$53.20). Canon Inc, the world's largest seller of digital cameras and the maker of Eos cameras, rose 1.4 percent to 7,870 yen.

    Australia's BHP Billiton, the world's No. 1 mining company, added 1.5 percent to A$28.65 (US$21.34).

    The US dollar strengthened to 112.63 yen at the close of trading in New York, up from 111.98 at the end of market trading in Tokyo. The Australian dollar fell more than 1 percent against the US dollar, its biggest decline in almost two weeks.

    The greenback also firmed against the Indonesian rupiah, the South Korean won and the Malaysian ringgit yesterday.

    Investors sent the dollar higher on speculation the Federal Reserve will raise US interest rates for a 17th straight time later this month following the release of minutes from its May 10 meeting.