TOKYO – Asian shares moved higher Tuesday as overnight gains on Wall Street helped eased worries about political unrest in Egypt.
Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average rose 0.3 percent to 10,272.69, rebounding from a sharp drop the previous day. Higher crude prices sent oil-related shares climbing.
Investors also bought companies seeing solid earnings. Hitachi Ltd. soared 2.7 percent after the Nikkei financial daily reported that its October-December operating profit likely hit an all-time high. Honda Motor Co. rose 1.6 percent after lifting its full-year profit forecast.
Elsewhere, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was up 0.3 percent at 23,506.48, South Korea's Kospi rose 0.7 percent to 2,083.72, and the Shanghai Composite index inched up 0.1 percent to 2,791.96.
Benchmarks in Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan and Singapore also gained ground. Trading activity across Asia will be muted later this week as many markets close for the Lunar New Year holidays.
In New York Monday, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 68 points, or 0.6 percent, to close at 11,891.93. Energy stocks led indexes higher Monday after Exxon Mobil Corp. reported its most profitable quarter since 2008.
The broader Standard and Poor's 500 index rose 0.8 percent to 1,286.12. The Nasdaq composite index gained 0.5 percent to 2,700.08.
In currencies, the dollar was trading at 82.03 yen from 82.04 yen late Monday. The euro stood at $1.3722 from $1.3689.
Benchmark crude for March delivery slipped 34 cents to $91.85 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract jumped $2.85 to settle at $92.19 Monday.
Oil prices have risen sharply since anti-government rioting began in Egypt at the end of last week. The country is not a major producer of oil, but it plays a key role in the industry because it controls the Suez Canal, a major route for oil tankers and cargo ships.
