Asian shares rise on trade talk optimism

Asian shares rise on Friday after a moderate rise on Wall Street, amid persisting optimism over the potential for China-US trade talks to help end a tariffs war between the two largest economies.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 1.1 per cent to 20,794.82. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.8 per cent to 5,913.80 in early trading, while South Korea's Kospi was surged 0.9 per cent to 2,175.69.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 1.3 per cent to 27,483.98, while the Shanghai Composite edged up 0.6 per cent to 2,602.95.

Shares also rose in Taiwan, Southeast Asia and India, where the Sensex gained 0.6 per cent to 36,426.50, according to AP.

The S&P 500 index edged 0.1 per cent higher to 2,642.33. The benchmark US index is up 12.4 per cent over the last month, but has slipped 1.1 per cent this week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.1 per cent to 24,553.24. The Nasdaq Composite index gained 0.7 per cent to 7,073.46. The Russell 2000 of small-company stocks gained 0.7 per cent to 1,464.41.

US crude oil added 69 cents to $53.82 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It rose 1 per cent to $53.13 per barrel in New York overnight.

Brent crude, used to price international oils, rose 72 cents to $61.81 per barrel in London.

The dollar edged up to 109.75 yen from 109.53 yen. The euro fell to $1.1325 from $1.1389.