Japan and Australia shares were higher in thin trading on Friday, while all other Asian markets closed Friday for the lunar new year holiday.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index climbed 1.1 per cent to 21,699.71 and the S&P ASX 200 in Australia added 0.1 per cent to 5,914.60, reports AP.
US stocks climbed for the fifth day in a row on Thursday. The S&P 500 index rallied to gain 1.2 per cent to 2,731.20. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 1.2 per cent, to 25,200.37.
The Nasdaq composite was up 1.6 per cent, to 7,256.43 and the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 1.0 per cent to 1,537.20.
US crude oil turned higher in afternoon trading after a slump in the morning. It rose 74 cents, or 1.2 per cent, to $61.34 a barrel in New York.
Brent crude, used to price international oils, lost 3 cents to $64.33 a barrel in London.
The dollar was flat at 106.12 yen while the euro rose to $1.2540 from $1.2506.
