Most Asian stock markets were higher Wednesday after US shares rose on encouraging jobs data while worries about North Korea and twin hurricane disasters eased.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 rose 0.4 per cent to 3,374.99 and Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 gained 0.4 per cent to 5,769.90. The Shanghai Composite Index retreated 0.1 per cent to 3,374.99, reports AP.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 27,803.51. Seoul's Kospi advanced 0.1 per cent to 2,367.10 and benchmarks in New Zealand, Jakarta and Manila also rose. Taiwan and Singapore declined.
The S&P 500 index rose 0.3 per cent to a record 2,496.48. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.3 per cent to 22,118.86. The Nasdaq composite picked up 0.3 per cent, to 6,454.28.
Benchmark US crude shed 1 cent to $48.22 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract gained 16 cents on Tuesday to close at $48.23.
Brent crude, used to price international oils, lost 11 cents to $54.16 in London. It rose 43 cents the previous session to $53.84.
The dollar declined to 110.04 yen from Tuesday's 110.15 yen. The euro gained to $1.1983 from $1.1966.
