Asian Shares Rise, Buoyed by Gains in U.S. Stocks

Markets in Asia rose Thursday as worries about the global financial system and the U.S.'s ability to withstand turmoil overseas abated somewhat.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average was up 2.5%, Australia's S&P ASX 200 gained 1.8% and South Korea's Kospi was up 1.1%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 2.5% while the Shanghai Composite Index was up 0.5%, as authorities reported that Chinese consumer inflation accelerated slightly in January, gaining speed for the third straight month.

The country's consumer-price index rose 1.8% in January from a year earlier, slightly quicker than a 1.6% year-over-year rise in December, and in line with economists' expectations. Higher food prices ahead of the Lunar New Year were among the main factors pushing up the headline figure.

China's producer-price index declined 5.3% in January from a year earlier, compared with a 5.9% year-over-year drop in December. That index has lingered in deflationary territory for almost four years.

The region's shares gained after U.S. stocks rose 1.6% on Wednesday to log their first three-day rally this year.

But as investors begin to look for bargains following a rough round of selling last week, concerns about global growth remain. Oil prices have also been volatile, as investors worry whether major oil producers will limit their oil output to a degree that will dent the global glut of crude.

Energy stocks were up 4% in Australia and 5% in Hong Kong, after U.S. crude oil surged 5.6% overnight.

In Tokyo, steel and energy stocks led gains. Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal was up 5.1% at 2,002.5 yen while Oil distributor JX Holdings was up 4.6% at Y454.3.

Brent oil futures were down early in Asia, but recovered to last gain 0.9% to $34.80 a barrel.

In Indonesia, the rupiah was last up 0.2% at 13475 to one U.S. dollar during the Asia session. Earlier this week, the currency reached its strongest level in four months against the U.S. dollar at 13290 rupiah to one greenback. Bank Indonesia is expected to cut interest rates by 0.25% later today.

--Liyan Qi and Kosaku Narioka contributed to this article.

Write to Chao Deng at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 17, 2016 22:25 ET (03:25 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.