Asian shares edged higher on Friday, tracking modest gains on Wall Street.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index added 0.1 per cent to 22,893.06 following Cabinet approval of a budget plan that includes record defense outlays and an extra 2.9 trillion yen ($25.6 billion) in stimulus spending.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index added 0.4 per cent to 29,473.45 and the Kospi in South Korea climbed 0.5 per cent to 2,442.66.
The Shanghai Composite index was up 0.1 per cent at 3,302.47 and the S&P ASX 200 in Australia gained 0.2 per cent to 6,069.70. Shares in Southeast Asia were mixed, reports AP.
Banks and energy companies led US stocks higher in subdued trading Thursday. The S &P 500 index rose 0.2 per cent to 2,684.57 and the Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.2 per cent to 24,782.29.
The Nasdaq composite added 0.1 per cent to 6,965.36 and the Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks picked up 0.5 per cent, to 1,547.11.
Benchmark US crude gave up 18 cents to $58.18 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract added 27 cents to settle at $58.36 a barrel on Thursday.
Brent crude, which is used to price international oils, lost 14 cents to $64.29 per barrel. It gained 34 cents to close at $64.90 a barrel in London.
The dollar was almost unchanged at 113.32 Japanese yen. The euro weakened to $1.1852 from $1.1875.