Asian stocks rebounded last week after US and Japanese central banks raised their growth outlooks and companies posted better-than-estimated earnings, boosting confidence in the global recovery.

Toshiba Corp and Elpida Memory Inc rallied more than 3 percent in Tokyo after Dell Inc, the personal-computer maker, reported profit that topped forecasts. Qantas Airways Ltd jumped 6.3 percent after Australia's biggest airline quadrupled net income. AMP Ltd rose 4.3 percent as Goldman Sachs Group Inc recommended the asset manager, citing "solid" earnings results.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 3 percent to 139.85 in the past five days, led by gains in energy, technology and finance shares. The index last week dropped by the most since August as China raised borrowing costs and anti-government protests intensified in Egypt, eventually forcing President Hosni Mubarak to resign.

"Economic sentiment is improving and that is supporting the stock market," said Tokyo-based Mitsushige Akino, who oversees about $450 million at Ichiyoshi Investment Management Co. The number of investors expecting stocks to rise further is increasing because of positive economic data and strong earnings, he added.

US Federal Reserve policy makers also took a more optimistic view this week, raising their 2011 gross domestic product forecasts as they pressed forward with an expansion of record monetary stimulus.

The Bank of Japan raised its economic assessment of the country for the first time in nine months as gross domestic product (GDP) shrank less than estimated. This prompted Nomura Holdings Inc to lift its growth outlook, saying it now expects the economy "to emerge from its lull sooner than previously thought".

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 2.2 percent last week, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index increased 1.1 percent. Taiwan Taiex jumped 2.7 percent after the island's economy also recorded better-than-estimated GDP numbers in the fourth quarter.

In China, the Shanghai Composite Index increased 2.7 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 3.3 percent. Gains were limited after data showed the Chinese inflation rate exceeded the government's target for a fourth month.

Toshiba jumped 5.7 percent to 538 yen in Tokyo as US rival Dell reported fourth-quarter results. Elpida, a Japanese maker of computer memory chips, increased 3.5 percent to 1,286 yen.

Toshiba also rose last week after analysts at Nikko Cordial Securities Inc and CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets recommended the shares.

Qantas surged 6.3 percent to A$2.54 after the airline reported a jump in first-half net profit to A$241 million ($242 million). The company said earnings for the full year will be "materially stronger" without providing a specific forecast. The airline also predicted a pick-up in business travel.

AMP climbed 4.3 percent to A$5.60 after Goldman Sachs upgraded the Australian asset manager to "buy" from "hold". The company last week reported second-half profit of A$350 million.

Santos Ltd gained 3.2 percent to A$14.24. The oil and gas producer reported a 15 percent increase in full-year net income and said new projects starting output this year may increase production by 20 percent.

Of the 464 companies in the MSCI Asia Pacific Index that have reported results since Jan 1 for the latest quarter, 181 have exceeded analysts' estimates, while 143 have missed them, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Toyota Motor Corp also advanced last week, climbing 2.9 percent to 3,885 yen. The carmaker is planning to cut its board to at least 17 members from the current 27 to improve decision making after a series of product recalls, according to two people familiar with the plans. It would be the biggest management reorganization in eight years.