Shares surged Monday in Asia, AP reported. Japan's Nikkei 225 index added 1.4 percent to 21,509.03. The Shanghai Composite index jumped 2.5 percent to 3,167.43 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 1.7 percent to 29,534.25. South Korea's Kospi climbed 1.3 percent to 2,168.28 and the S&P ASX 200 rose 0.6 percent in Australia to 6,217.00. India's Sensex gained 0.8 percent to 38,962.92 and shares also rose in Singapore and Thailand. Indonesia's benchmark fell. Benchmark U.S. crude picked up 41 cents to $60.55 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It rose 1.4 percent to settle at $60.14 a barrel on Friday. Brent crude, used to price international oils, advanced 62 cents to $68.20 per barrel after closing 0.8 percent higher Friday at $68.39 a barrel. The dollar rose to 111.13 Japanese yen from 110.85 yen on Friday. The euro strengthened to $1.1236 from $1.1219. The British pound advanced to $1.3074 from $1.3039.
