Asian stocks rose, with the regional benchmark index heading for its biggest jump in five months, after U.S. economic data bolstered confidence in the global recovery and as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe nominated a new central bank governor.

Nikkei 225 11,559.36 +305.39 +2.71%

Hang Seng 23,020.27 +443.26 +1.96%

S&P/ASX 200 5,104.08 +67.49 +1.34%

Shanghai Composite 2,365.59 +52.37 +2.26%

Japan’s Nikkei 225 posted its longest monthly winning streak since 2006 amid speculation Abe’s nominee, Asian Development Bank President Haruhiko Kuroda, will push for more monetary stimulus.

In Sydney, James Hardie Industries SE, a building-materials supplier that gets 67 percent of sales from the U.S., gained 3.2 percent.

New World Development Co., a Hong Kong builder controlled by billionaire Cheng Yu-tung, rose 3.6 percent after posting earnings that beat estimates.