Asian stocks advance after stimulus talks lift Wall St

Asian shares rose on Wednesday after revived hopes for more aid for the U.S. economy broke a four-day losing streak on Wall Street.

Asian shares

• Japan’s Nikkei 225 index gained 0.3% to 26,767.74 despite the release of data showing exports fell 4% in November, while imports dropped 11% from a year earlier.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng surged 0.7% to 26,386.32.
• The Kospi in South Korea rose 0.4% to 2,768.98.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 jumped 1.2% to 6,710.70.
• The Shanghai Composite index edged 0.1% higher.

Oil Prices

• Benchmark U.S. crude oil shed 3 cents to 47.59 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It rose 63 cents on Tuesday to $47.62.
• Brent crude, the international standard, gave up 5 cents, to $50.71 per barrel.

Currencies

• The U.S. dollar slipped to 103.62 Japanese yen from 103.68 yen late Tuesday.
• The euro was unchanged at $1.2155.