Asian stocks up on Wall Street rebound

HONG KONG: Asian stock markets pushed higher on Friday, lifted by a strong performance on Wall Street and a brief dip in oil prices.

Tokyo's Nikkei index was up 1.02 percent in the afternoon and Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 ended up 1.20 percent, or 57.90 points, at 4,864.30. Shanghai's Composite Index gained 0.21 percent and Hong Kong rose 1.19 percent by the break.

The rises were underpinned by renewed optimism about the US economy after the government reported that initial jobless claims had dropped to 368,000 in the week ending February 26, the lowest level since May 2008.

In addition a private-sector survey showed February sales in US chain stores were strong, while another gauge showed the country's vast service sector grew for a 15th consecutive month last month.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.59 percent, the broader S&P 500 index climbed 1.72 percent and the tech-rich Nasdaq surged 1.84 percent.

Markets were also encouraged by a respite in the climb in world oil prices on Thursday. However some caution set in across Asian markets as the day advanced, with oil starting to rise again and traders turning more cautious about the United States ahead of unemployment figures for February due out later.

York's main contract, light sweet crude for April delivery, rose 11 cents to $102.02 a barrel and Brent North Sea crude for April was up 11 cents at $114.90 in the afternoon. However the levels were still below Thursday's Asian prices.

The single European currency dipped to $1.3956 in Tokyo morning trade, compared to $1.3965 in New York late Thursday. It fell to 114.93 yen from 115.10 yen. The dollar was slightly lower at 82.33 yen compared to 82.41 yen.

Gold opened at $1,417.60-$1,418.60 an ounce in Hong Kong, down from $1,426.00-$1,427.00.