Asian shares tracked an overnight rally on Wall Street, though Japan's Nikkei 225 index ceded early gains as the yen rose against the U.S. dollar, AP reported. Japan's Nikkei 225 lost 0.7 percent to 21,244.68 after gaining more than 1.0 percent earlier in the day. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index added 1.4 percent to 29,884.06 and the Shanghai Composite Index advanced 1.0 percent to 3,185.86. South Korea's Kospi rose 1.1 percent to 2,395.19. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.6 percent to 5,855.90. Share benchmarks in Southeast Asia and New Zealand were all higher. U.S. stocks finished higher on Monday. The Standard & Poor's 500, the benchmark for many index funds, gained 1.4 percent to 2,656. The Dow climbed 1.7 percent to 24,601.27 and the Nasdaq composite advanced 1.6 percent to 6,981.96. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks rose 0.9 percent to 1,490.98. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 35 cents to $59.64 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It gained 9 cents to $59.29 a barrel on Monday. Brent crude, used to price international oils, advanced 39 cents to $62.98 per barrel in London. The dollar slipped to 108.14 yen from 108.66 yen. The euro rose to $1.2322 from $1.2289.
