Asian stocks followed Wall Street higher on Tuesday ahead of data traders hope will show surging U.S. inflation eased in August, reducing pressure for more interest rate hikes, the Associated Press reported. Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney advanced. Oil prices edged lower. The Shanghai Composite Index gained less than 0.1% to 3,253.92 and the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo added 0.2% to 28,614.53. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong rose 0.4% to 19,442.89. The Kospi in Seoul soared 2.9% to 2,452.69 and Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 rose 0.7% to 7,013.70. India's Sensex opened up 0.6% at 60,504.83. New Zealand declined while Southeast Asian markets gained. In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude gained 14 cents to $87.92 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 99 cents to $87.78 on Monday. Brent crude, the price basis for international oil trading, added 9 cents to $94.09 per barrel in London. It gained $1.16 the previous session to $94. The dollar eased to 142.11 yen from Monday's 142.73 yen. The euro rose to $1.0150 from $1.0117.
