Asian shares meander following mixed cues from Wall Street

A man walks past an electronic stock board showing Japan’s Nikkei 225 at a securities firm in Tokyo, Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016. Asian stocks were mostly lower on Wednesday, tracking declines on Wall Street as crude oil extended losses after Saudi Arabia ruled out freezing production, saying market forces should be allowed to work. AP

TOKYO  — Asian shares were mixed in early trading on Thursday after an overnight reversal from losses on Wall Street, thanks in part to a pickup in the price of crude oil.

KEEPING SCORE: Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock index gained 0.7 percent to 16,027.03 and South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.5 percent to 1,922.74. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.3 percent to 4,862.60 and the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong fell 0.5 percent to 19,101.36. The Shanghai Composite index fell 1.6 percent to 2,883.56. Shares rose in Taiwan and Indonesia and fell in New Zealand.

ANALYST VIEWPOINT: “Despite the tenuous theoretical link between supply side-driven lower oil prices and weakening share markets, they again moved in lock step overnight,” said Michael McCarthy of CMC Markets. “Oil reversed a 4 percent drop to move 1 percent higher, and stocks followed,” he said. “This U-turn in sentiment sees Asia Pacific markets set for a positive day.”

OIL BOUNCE: U.S. crude oil slipped 14 cents to $32.01 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It closed up 28 cents at $32.15 a barrel on Wednesday. Brent crude oil, which is used to price oil internationally, fell 18 cents to $34.23. On Wednesday, it gained $1.14, or 3.4 percent, to $34.10 a barrel in London.

WALL STREET GAINS: After dramatic losses earlier in the day, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 53.21 points, or 0.3 percent, to 16,484.99. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 8.53 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,929.80 and the Nasdaq composite rose 39.02 points, or 0.9 percent, to 4,542.61.

CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 112.30 yen from 112.08 yen in the previous day’s trading. The euro inched up to $1.1020 from $1.1011. TVJ