Asian shares, US futures gain after last Trump-Biden debate

Asian shares were mostly higher in Asia on Friday after President Donald Trump and his challenger former Vice President Joe Biden faced off in their second and final debate before the Nov. 3 election.

Asian Shares

• U.S. stock futures shifted from modest losses to less than 0.1% gains in the debate’s aftermath.
• Japan’s Nikkei 225 picked up 0.4% to 23,561.96 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 0.4% to 24,902.30. In Seoul, the Kospi edged 0.2% higher to 2,360.36.
• The Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.1% to 3,309.42. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was unchanged at 6,174.10. Taiwan’s benchmark declined.
• India’s Sensex rose 0.3% and shares rose in Southeast Asia.
• In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gave up 0.1% to 6,166.90.

Oil Prices

• U.S. crude oil fell 11 cents to $40.53 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
• It added 61 cents to $40.64 per barrel on Thursday.
• Brent crude, the international standard, also gave up 11 cents, to $42.35 per barrel.

Currency Markets

• The U.S. dollar bought 104.72 Japanese yen, down from 104.86 yen late Thursday.
• The euro slipped to $1.1802 from $1.1820