Asia Follows Wall Street Higher as Oil Prices Fall
Asian markets rallied on Friday, fueled by a strong performance on Wall Street and declining oil prices. Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 0.8% to 64,662.11 in early trading, while South Korea's Kospi jumped 2.1% to 6,856.35.
The Shanghai Composite added nearly 0.8% to 3,905.34, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged up 0.8% to 24,766.66. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose nearly 0.1% to 8,738.50.
The rally on Wall Street was led by the S&P 500, which gained 1.1% for its second rise in nine days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 316 points, or 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 1.7%. Brent crude oil prices slid to $104.11 a barrel, down 0.68% from earlier in the week.
The drop in oil prices helped ease pressure on stocks and removed some of the bond market's influence. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.93% from 5.01% late Wednesday.