Asian shares advanced Monday after a strong U.S. jobs report helped Wall Street benchmarks end the week on a high note. Chinese shares gained after officials talked up the economy on the sidelines of the national legislative session, AP reported. Japan's Nikkei 225 stock index rose 0.2 percent to 19,633.75 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 1.3 percent to 23,858.21. South Korea's Kospi added 1 percent to 2,117.59. The Shanghai Composite index climbed 0.7 percent to 3,235.76, while Australia's S&P ASX 200 fell 0.3 percent to 5,757.30. Shares were mixed in Southeast Asia. Benchmark U.S. crude oil fell 18 cents to $48.31 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It lost 79 cents to $48.49 on Friday. Brent crude, which is used to price international oils, lost 8 cents to $51.29. The dollar slipped to 114.60 yen from 114.77 and the euro rose to $1.0709 from $1.0674.
