Asian shares rose on Wednesday, supported by rosy manufacturing data from Japan, despite losses on Wall Street.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index climbed 0.6 per cent to 22,064.55 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 1.0 per cent to 31,169.79. Australia's S&P ASX 200 edged 0.1 per cent higher to 5,946.00.
The Kospi in South Korea added 0.3 per cent to 2,422.34. Shares in Southeast Asia were mixed. Markets in mainland China were closed for a final day of lunar new year holidays, reports AP.
US stocks ended lower on Tuesday. Walmart's stock sank 10 per cent on Tuesday, its biggest drop in 30 years. The S&P 500 index fell 0.6 per cent to 2,716.26.
The Dow Jones industrial average slid 1.0 per cent to 24,964.75. The Nasdaq edged 0.1 per cent lower to 7,234.31. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks gave up 0.9 per cent, to 1,529.99.
The rising yield on the 10-year Treasury is making bonds more appealing than stocks. Early Wednesday it was at 2.90 per cent.
Benchmark US crude fell 47 cents to $61.32 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It rose 24 cents to settle at $61.79 per barrel in New York.
Brent crude, used to price international oils, shed 39 cents to $64.86 per barrel. It gained 42 cents to close at $65.25 a barrel in London.
The dollar rose to 107.82 yen from 107.33 yen on Tuesday. The euro edged lower to $1.2335 from $1.2337.