Mizuho Financial Group Inc, Japan's largest bank by assets, jumped 8.1 percent to ?227,000, while UFJ Holdings Inc, the fourth-largest, climbed 4.6 percent to ?430,000.
Nikkei 225 futures for December delivery rose 0.5 percent to 10,320 in Osaka and added 0.1 percent to 10,300 in Singapore.
SK Corp, South Korea's biggest oil refiner, added 0.7 percent to 15,400 won. S-Oil Corp, the nation's third largest, surged 6.3 percent to 23,700 won.
Taiwan Styrene Monomer Corp climbed 3.7 percent to NT$28.10 on speculation that the shuttering of Idemitsu Kosan's 140,000-barrel-a-day refinery in Hokkaido after the earthquake may raise prices.
"Taiwanese petrochemical makers could step in to fill the gap if the disruption at the Japanese refinery persists," said Simon Chao, who manages US$17 million at President Investment Trust Corp. "The earthquake may cause a short-term spike in stock prices" of rival petrochemical makers.
The President Infrastructure Fund has gained 25 percent this year, compared with a 27 percent advance in the TAIEX.
The benchmark shed 0.7 percent to 5650.11, as computer chipmakers dropped after Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein cut its recommendation for the global chip industry.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufac-turing Co (台積電), the world's largest supplier of made-to-order chips, fell 0.8 percent to NT$66.00.
United Microelectronics Corp (
For the week, the TAIEX slumped 1.9 percent, its first weekly decline in three.
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