Shares advanced in Asia on Thursday after a rally on Wall Street as investors welcomed a report showing U.S. consumer confidence is holding up despite the Federal Reserve's campaign to fight inflation by raising interest rates, the Ap reported. Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped more than 2% and benchmarks also rose in Tokyo, Sydney and Seoul. Shanghai and Mumbai declined. U.S. futures and oil prices were modestly higher. By mid-afternoon, the Hang Seng was up 2.3% at 19,595.69, while the Shanghai Composite index fell 0.3% to 3,058.71. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 was 0.5% higher at 26,507.87 and the Kospi in Seoul rose 1.1% to 2,353.85. In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.5% to 7,152.50. In energy trading, U.S. benchmark crude oil added 33 cents to $78.62 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It picked up $2.06 to $78.29 per barrel on Wednesday. Brent crude, the pricing basis for international trading, gained 29 cents to $82.87 per barrel. The U.S. dollar slipped to 131.84 Japanese yen from 132.42 yen. The euro rose to $1.0644 from $1.0606.