Asian stocks advance after Wall Street gains

Asian stocks advanced Wednesday after Wall Street’s main index closed at a fresh record high and Spain’s Catalonia crisis eased.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose further a day after its highest close in 21 years, adding 0.2 per cent to 20,870.24. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.6 per cent to 2,449.53.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed 0.2 per cent to 28,545.98. The Shanghai Composite in mainland China edged up 0.2 per cent to 3,387.54. Australia’s S&P/ASX 20 advanced 0.6 per cent to 5,770.10.

Shares in Southeast Asia were mostly higher, according to AP.

Major US benchmarks finished on a high note again, with the Dow Jones industrial average gaining 0.3 per cent to a record 22,830.68.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 added 0.2 per cent to 2,550.64 and the Nasdaq composite picked up 0.1 per cent to 6,587.25.

Oil futures extended gains. Benchmark US crude oil rose 12 cents to $51.04 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract added $1.34, or 2.7 per cent, to settle at $50.92 a barrel on Tuesday.

Brent crude, used to price international oils, gained 5 cents to $56.66 a barrel in London.

The dollar rose to 112.46 yen from 112.44 yen in late trading Tuesday. The euro slipped to $1.1804 from $1.1808 after hitting an intraday high of $1.1829 following Puigdemont’s speech.