Shares extended gains in Asia on Wednesday, AP reported. Japan's Nikkei 225 index gained 1.3 percent to 20,472.79 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 2.5 percent to 26,512.06. The Shanghai Composite index surged 1.6 percent to 2,566.66 while South Korea's Kospi advanced 1.9 percent to 2,062.64. Australia's S&P ASX 200 surged 0.9 percent to 5,775.20. Shares also rose in Southeast Asia. Oil prices also continued to rally. U.S. crude rose 80 cents to $50.58 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It has risen for eight of the past nine days and gained 2.6 percent to $49.78 per barrel on Tuesday. Brent crude, used to price international oils, added 79 cents to $59.51 per barrel. It gained 2.4 percent to $58.72 a barrel in London. The dollar climbed to 108.91 yen from 108.75 yen. The euro rose $1.1454 from $1.1442.
