Asian shares advance as Wall Street regains ground

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.9 per cent to 29,522.24. (Pixabay photo)

TOKYO — Asian shares edged mostly higher Tuesday after Wall Street regained lost ground overnight amid subdued trading ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.

KEEPING SCORE: Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 1 per cent to 22,488.38 in morning trading, while the Kospi in South Korea added 0.1 per cent to 2,530.64. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.9 per cent to 29,522.24. Australia’s S&P ASX 200 climbed 0.3 per cent to 5,962.00. The Shanghai Composite index surged 0.7 per cent to 3,414.57. Southeast Asian shares were mixed.

WALL STREET: U.S. trading has been relatively light ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index picked up 0.1 per cent to 2,582.14. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.3 per cent to 23,430.33. The Nasdaq composite advanced 0.1 per cent to 6,790.71. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks climbed 0.7 per cent to 1,503.40.

NORTH KOREA: Nervousness about North Korea did little to dampen investor sentiments in Asia, and instead lifted defence-related stock in Japan. President Donald Trump put North Korea on America’s terrorism blacklist, despite questions about Pyongyang’s support for international attacks beyond the assassination of its leader’s half brother in February. IHI Corp. gained 1.3 per cent, while Mitsubishi Heavy Industries edged up 0.8 per cent.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude oil gained 7 cents to $56.49 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It lost 29 cents to $56.49 on Monday. Brent crude oil, the international standard, climbed 11 cents to $62.33 per barrel.

CURRENCIES: The dollar slipped to 112.53 yen from 112.62 late Monday. The euro rose to $1.1739 from $1.1733.