Oil rises, yen falls as US interest rates likely to stay near record low

SINGAPORE: Asian stocks jumped the most since November, oil rose and the yen fell on speculation Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will signal that US interest rates will be kept near a record low.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 2.5 percent to 118.23 as of 5 pm in Tokyo. Futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index climbed 0.4 percent. The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 rose 0.2 percent to 250.73 at 8 am in London. Oil rallied for a fifth day, rising above $80 a barrel. The yen weakened against all 16 of its most-traded counterparts.