Asian shares advance climb after Wall Street rebound

Asian shares advanced Friday after a strong finish on Wall Street, helped by news of possible progress on resolving trade tensions between China and the US.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped 2.4 per cent to 26,026.18 and the Shanghai Composite index added 1.2 per cent to 2,637.65. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index climbed 0.7 per cent to 21,842.77.

South Korea’s Kospi climbed 2.2 per cent to 2,069.00. The S&P ASX/200 in Australia slipped 0.5 per cent to 5,813.90. Shares fell in Taiwan but fell in India and Southeast Asia, reports AP.

US stocks continued their gradual rebound from a plunge that lasted almost the entire month of October. The S&P 500 index added 1.1 per cent to 2,740.37.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average also picked up 1.1 percent, to 25,380.74. The Nasdaq composite climbed 1.8 per cent to 7,434.06 and the Russell 2000 index jumped 2.2 per cent, to 1,544.98.

Oil prices continued to weaken after the Department of Energy said US crude stockpiles increased for the sixth straight week.

Benchmark US crude slipped 24 cents to $63.45 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It slumped 2.5 per cent to $63.69 a barrel in New York.

Brent crude, used to price international oils, lost 26 cents to $72.63 per barrel. It shed 2.9 per cent Thursday to $72.89 a barrel in London.